Twelve Rounds
by palmettocalzona
Summary: Arizona wins a spot in a championship boxing challenge. She is one of 15 other competitors all trying to win a chance to be a professional boxer. During orientation, she meets her two coaches, Miranda Bailey and Callie Torres, and Arizona's world gets turned upside down. Will Arizona be able to win not only the competition, but also Callie? Rated M for later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, only Shonda and the writers of Grey's Anatomy do.

A/N: After watching the movie Creed the other night (the new Rocky Balboa, boxing flick) I got an idea for a boxing a/u story. It follows the premise of that shoe Ultimate Fighter where the people come and train and try to become the next and greatest UFC fighter, however I changed the format to be boxing. I don't know really anything about boxing or MMA so bare with me on some of the technicalities and such. Also this is my first attempt at writing fic so don't be too harsh, please!

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Chapter 1: _Arizona_

"Would you just open it already? You've been staring at that envelope for 2 days now, Arizona. You just need to sack up and open the letter."

"Timothy Walker Robbins, you will not use that kind of language under my roof. Do you hear me?" Not liking her son's choice of words, Barbara Robbins is quick to scold him. "However, Arizona, your brother is right. It's time you woman up and open that letter."

All Arizona can do is roll her eyes. Ever since the mail came on Tuesday, a knot had formed deep in her stomach. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, and her mom and brother were not helping in the least. "You both know it's not that easy." Arizona replies. "Everything I have worked for the past three and a half years comes down to the contents of that envelope."

Barbara, seeing Arizona's nerves and apprehension, tries to reason with her nervous daughter. "Sweetheart, we know it's not easy. We all know how hard you've worked to get here, and we know how much this opportunity means to you." Barbara walks around the kitchen island, grabbing the envelope off the counter as she saunters over to her daughter sitting at their family's kitchen table. She gently places the letter down in front of Arizona and then moves a loving hand to her daughter's shoulder. Trying to convey love and comfort, Barbara adds, "You deserve this, Arizona. You deserve to win a spot there. I've seen how successful you've already made yourself. You have worked day in and day out to get to where you are now. Those judges saw that, they had to have seen it. Please, stop torturing yourself and open that letter."

Arizona scrunches her face together and takes a deep breathe. She knows her mom is right, it's time to find out her fate. Besides, if she keeps this charade of being too afraid to open a letter, then maybe she doesn't deserve to win potential spot there anyways. "Fine, you know what, you're right. I just need to open it." And with that, Arizona reaches out a tentative hand, clutching the nearly weightless folded up, glued together envelope in her left hand. With one last deep breath she slips the index finger of her right hand into the top edge of the envelope and begins to carefully tear it open.

Slowly, as if she trying to break the mysterious letter, Arizona removes the letter from its home. She notices that the letter is on nicer paper than that of the envelope. _'Very formal'_ she thinks to herself. As she carefully unfolds the tri-folded letter, she can feel the eyes of her mom and brother boring holes into her skull. Once fully opened, Arizona sees nothing but dark black print words staring back at her. She began mumbling to herself the words staring back at her. Not loud enough for prying ears to hear, but more than just reading to herself.

 **"Dear Ms. Arizona Robbins,**

 **Thank you for your interest in the Ultimate Boxing Championship League. After reviewing your entrance application, watching your audition reel, and careful consideration amongst our selection committee, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as one of our sixteen competitors in the Ultimate Fighter: Boxing Championship Series. Congratulations!..."**

A smile big and bright enough to blind the stars broke out over her face. Arizona didn't need to keep reading, she got the gist of the letter and she was over the moon thrilled about it.

"Honey, what does it say?" Barbara questioned.

"Mom, really? Look at her face! She made it! She actually freaking made it!" Tim exclaimed. Leaping up from his seat at the table and grabbing his younger sister, he wrapped her in the biggest bear hug and whispered into her ear, "I knew you could do it Zona, I am so happy for you!"

Barbara Robbins leaned down and picked up the letter that her daughter had let go of while nearly being suffocated by her big brothers loving hug and continued to read where her daughter left off.

 **"…Congratulations! The next step in your journey to becoming the Ultimate Boxer is very simple. Please call the ten digit number listed below and state your full name to the operator. He or she will then confirm your spot in our program and inform you of when you need to report to our facilities in Seattle, Washington. We look forward to meeting you in person and beginning your training. Again, congratulations and good luck!**

 **Please call: 800-225-9662**

 **Sincerely,**

 **Michael T. Goodwin, President**

"Sweetheart, you need to call this number and confirm your spot. Lord, I hope they haven't given up on you! This letter has been sitting on the counter for 2 days now." Barbara tone was a little worrisome, but she tried to keep an even keel for her daughter's sake.

Panic now seeped its way into Arizona's skin. She knew her mom had a point and could possibly be right. Ugh why hadn't she just opened the letter the moment she laid eyes on it? Her father had taught her better than that. Be strong, be honorable, and be confident. Those morals, along with many others, had been instilled in her for as long as she could remember.

Arizona was at the phone in a flash and demanding her mother to read out the number slowly as her fingers worked across the keypad punching the corresponding numbers. Finally, she has the 10 digits dialed and with each ring of the phone, the butterflies in he stomach get stronger and stronger.

Ring…Ring…Ring…"Hello, thank you for calling the Ultimate Fighter Registration Office. Please state your full name so that I may pull up your file" the hoarse voice on the other end of line calmly dictated to Arizona.

"Um… Arizona Robbins", she stated as clear of a voice as she could muster through her nerves.

Arizona can hear the operator furiously typing away on a computer. "Okay Ms. Robbins, first of all let me say congratulations. I know you must be very happy about making the competition. Second, thank you for calling and confirming your acceptance, though you cut it very close to our 72-hour deadline. Our system is showing that you currently reside in Virginia, is that correct?"

Arizona takes a brief moment to calm her nerves. They had been building ever since her mom commented that she could be too late in accepting the offer, but she just heard the operator confirm her spot, so everything is okay…at least she hopes it is. With the way things have gone these past couple of years, she just never knows. "Yes, Virginia is correct. Just outside Alexandria, to be specific."

"Okay, so it looks like the closet major airport to you is Dulles International. You'll need to be ready to fly out Saturday morning. Could you provide me with your email so that I can send your flight information?" The operator states.

"Saturday morning?! That's like barely two days from now! How am I suppose to get ready in that short amount of time?" Arizona is dumbstruck at this very short window of time she now has to pull everything together and herself in order.

The operator, who is less than thrilled to be getting yelled at by someone who has essentially won a free trip to Seattle to pursue their dream goes on, "Well, Ms. Robbins, acceptance letters were sent out May 1st. Give or take three days for delivery, that puts us at May 4th. You appear to have waited two days to open your letter, since I am just receiving your phone call. That puts us at today, May 6th. All participants are scheduled to report to the facilities on May 10th, meaning you need to be on a plane no later than May 8th, to make sure you get here and have ample time to get yourself situated before you have to report to the director. So, I'll ask again, may I please have your email address Ms. Robbins?"

With her tail between her legs and a very apologetic tone, Arizona replies, "Yes, yes of course. I apologize for my outburst. I know you're just doing your job. My emails is a-z-r-o-b-b-i-n-s at g-m-a-i-l dot c-o-m." Arizona listens as the operator repeats her address back to her, "Yep, that's right. 'AZ' like the state abbreviation, Robbins at gmail dot com." After answering a couple more questions regarding things like food allergies and family medical history, Arizona hangs up the phone and turns to the waiting faces of her mother and brother.

"So, I guess I leave on Saturday!" Arizona grins as her two family members consume her in warm, loving hug.

Tim is first to release his grip on Arizona, followed by Barbara who quickly wipes a tear from her cheek. "Honey, I am so proud of you. You're going to achieve so much out there, I just know it. You have to promise to call us though, do you hear me? At least one call a week, and I'll even learn how to use that TimeFace thing on that new phone you insisted that I have."

"Mom, it's called FaceTime." Tim huffs.

"Yes ma'am, I promise to call and time face with you." Arizona smirks but her mother knows it was just a loving tease and that Arizona will most definitely FaceTime with her even if she hadn't asked for it. "Do you think he's proud of me?" Arizona hesitantly questioned.

Tim who had busied himself with getting ingredients out to make a grilled cheese sandwich, suddenly froze and looked to the two women standing across the kitchen from him.

Barbara, knew this questioned had to be brewing in her daughters head, took a step closer to Arizona. She raised both her arms and rested her hands on Arizona shoulders, then leaned her face in so that her forehead was almost touching Arizona's. "Yes. Yes, your father would be ecstatic for you in this moment. The only thing he wanted in life was to see his children happy, and Arizona I know this acceptance letter has made you immensely happy. After years of being unhappy, though you definitely had a right to be unhappy after everything that happened, I can see that this is the beginning of something great and I KNOW that your father can see that too, from wherever he may be."

A heavy sigh of relief sprang from Arizona's lungs and she reached in to hug her mom for what seemed like the 100th time in the past hour. "I guess I should go get packed then, huh. I've got a flight to catch!"

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A/N2: the phone number Arizona has to call is made up completely. I took the word "calzona" and spelled it out in numbers. You know like we used to have to do before we had a full keyboard on our phones? So don't go trying to call that number because I have know clue who will answer or if it will even ring ha!


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Grey's Anatomy characters found in this story. They are the writers only, I just create other stories featuring them._**

 _A/N: Enjoy!_

Chapter 2: _Callie_

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 _"Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me, I said your holding back, she said shut up and dance with me…"_ Callie sang along to her favorite song as she kept her steady pace on the treadmill. The beat in her ears helped keep her feet moving and if she was going to make it through the next twelve weeks of training camp, she needed to keep moving.

Things in Callie's life had been going great. In the months leading up to her return to Seattle, she saw her parents renew their wedding vows in a beautiful Miami ceremony. Her older sister, Aria, was awarded junior partner position at her law firm, and with the love and support of her family, Callie was finally coming to terms with who she was: a strong-willed (some might say hard headed), curvy, bi-sexual, Hispanic, boxing bombshell.

Normally Callie stayed in Seattle between training camps, but nothing was normal about last years challenge. She found herself questioning everything she had ever known. Everything she had been taught growing up seemed to be crashing down on top of her and nothing, I mean nothing, made sense anymore. The only thing she knew to do was return home and seek help from the two people she knew would never turn her away.

* _Flashback*_

 _"Mami, I don't know. I don't know how or why. I just know that there was something about her that I found attractive." Callie professed, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes._

 _Lucia Torres was a bible-thumping, stern as can be, devout to a "T", Catholic. Every scenario that had ever occurred in her life had been answered with a passage from the Bible. Her girls knew that if they acted out or needed guidance, they could be sure to hear a Proverb or Psalm. But today was different. Lucia saw the fear of rejection and confusion in her daughter's eyes and abandoned her preaching ways to simply comfort Callie. "Come here, Calliope", she said. Reaching out and taking her now crying daughter into her arms, Lucia continued, "It's okay, mija. Talk to me, tell your father and I what happened? We want to understand, we love you and all we want is to see you happy."_

 _Carlos Torres had not moved a muscle since walking in on the scene of his wife and daughter talking about Callie's latest love interest. He, like Lucia, was a devout Catholic and was having a very hard time wrapping his head around the fact that his daughter did -no DOES- find women attractive._

 _Callie slips out of her mother's grip, wipes her cheeks free of the remaining tears, and sits up straight. Looking to her father first, who is standing in the doorframe of the family's large living, he gives a slight nod of his head indicating that he is truly ready to hear what she has to say. Callie then shifts her focus to her mother, who is still sitting next to her on the couch. All Callie can see in her eyes is love, and for the first time since all this came out, Callie feels like it might be okay._

 _"Well, it all started around week five of training. She asked if she could stay in the gym and work on footwork before her match in the ring the next day. I told her yes, and asked if she wanted a sparring partner. So, we're in the ring throwing jabs and bobbing and weaving all over the canvas. Things got pretty intense, really quickly, and I could tell she was giving me some looks but I just figured she was gauging me as an opponent. After about 45 minutes of going back and forth, she threw her gloves off, stomped out of the ring and screamed that she couldn't do it anymore. I had no idea what I did wrong, but I just let it go." Callie was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize her father had moved from the doorway to couch and was now sitting down next to her._

 _Sandwiched in between her parents, Callie continued with her story. "Over the next couple of days, every time I saw Erica she would give me the same looks I saw in the ring, and then awkwardly excuse herself from the room. It started to really piss me off, you know? I was there to help these women achieve their dream, and for some reason one of my competitors was avoiding me. So, I confronted her about it. I went to her room one night and found her studying the tape of my 2013 championship fight. I walked in and sat next to her on her bed. We sat in silence until the tape finished with me raising the Championship belt over my head. I then turned to face her and without thinking just blurted it out 'Why are you avoiding me? You know you're supposed to be using me as a resource, a guide to get you to the final bout. How can I do my job if you…' but I couldn't finish my rant because she grabbed my face and crushed her lips to mine. At first I was confused, but slowly things started to fall into place in my mind. The looks she had been giving me, the avoidance, I mean hell, she was watching my tapes…it all made sense. I pulled back from her grip, and just stared at her. Her face was as red as a tomato and she started mumbling a string of profanities mixed with apologies. But I just sat there. My lips were tingling and I was trying to figure out why I wasn't running out of her room to report her for harassment. Instead, I stood up, walked over to the window where she was standing and mumbling something about fucking up her chances to become a fighter, and I kissed her again." Callie wiped the tears that had started falling again and added, "That's how it started. From that point on we were always together, secretly of course. I couldn't process my emotions and be a trainer, so I just went with what was happening. For that brief six weeks I was so happy being with her. Then week 11 happened. It was the challenge right before the finals and she lost the fight, which meant she had to go home. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't fight for her to stay because that would've shown favoritism, which is a big no-no when in my position. So, I had to let her go. She was furious. She turned on me like a dime. Yelling and screaming and cussing me out. She couldn't understand that I was contractually bound to treat each fighter fairly. I watched her pack her things, exit the room, and walk out of my life. I was left there, standing in the empty room of the women I now had feelings for, not knowing when or if I would ever see her again." Callie ended her story and was now sobbing into her mother's shoulder._

 _*End flashback*_

As Callie finished her ten-mile run on the treadmill, she recounted her last couple of days in Miami. After telling her parents the whole story, they did nothing but comfort their wounded daughter. Even though their family were gold star Catholics, Lucia and Carlos were not about to damn Callie to Hell. Sure the Bible taught them about the sins of man lying with another man, but it also preached about love. God told us to love each other no matter what and that's just what Callie's parents chose to do, love her no matter who she chose to live her life with.

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A/N2: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. Just had to establish some background content with Callie before I could get into the good stuff


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: Hope y'all enjoy this chapter. And I'm just going to throw some things out there for y'all as sort of an FYI for later on. When I go to read Calzona fic, I want the stories that create a vivid picture and that build up relationships whether it be friendships or romantic relationships. In addition to that, I also** **love** **the stories that have SMUT, like good, sexy, smut. That being said, it drives me crazy to get 18 chapters into a 19 chapter story and the most I've gotten to read about is a steamy make out session. So if y'all will bear with me for a bit as I set the characters and story lines up, there will be some good sexy times to come. Only I know when they will happen and who will be involved. But that is for me to know and you to find out. So enjoy. Comment if you don't mind, let me know what you're liking/what you're not liking.**

Chapter 3: _1502_

Arizona stepped out of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and into the crisp, clean Washington air. She didn't know much about Seattle, mostly just that it rained a lot which was the case for today. "Guess I better get used to this", she mumbled to herself as set her carry-on backpack down on the ground and began to dig out her rain jacket. Flipping the hood over her head, she re-packed her backpack and returned it to its home over her shoulders so that it rested comfortably on her back. She then grabbed then handle of her massive suitcase and began walking in search of a taxi.

"Where to miss?" the scratchy, wheezing voice of an aging cab drive asked.

Someone's smoked a few cigarettes in their lifetime, she thought. "Uh, the Seattle Embassy Suites downtown please." As the cab pulled out the airport terminal, and cruised into town, Arizona couldn't help but notice how luscious and green and pretty Seattle was. Even the smell of place she liked, the air was clean and almost had a woodsy musk to it. Yea, she liked it here already. Pulling out her phone, Arizona decided to send her mom and brother a quick text letting them know she made it safely to Seattle and promising a phone call later that day.

As the cab pulled up outside the hotel, Arizona gawked at the fanciness of her new 12-week home. Sure, she had travelled before. Her family took a vacation every summer growing up, but they always ended up staying at an inexpensive roach motel, close to whatever national landmark they chose to visit that year. After Arizona paid her fare and thanked the driver, she meandered into the ornate hotel lobby. The floor was nicely polished marble, and the walls lined with beautiful paintings of Seattle's skyline. Dotting the lobby, there were men in fancy business suits sitting in plush leather chairs tapping away on the keys of their computers.

Approaching the front desk, Arizona noticed a poster set up on an easel reading **'Welcome to Seattle Ultimate Fighters!'** under the greeting were pictures of past winners and the official Ultimate Boxing Championship League logo.

"Good afternoon ma'am, welcome to the Embassy Suites. How can I help you today?" the polite and impeccably dressed woman behind the counter asked.

"I have a reservation here under the name Arizona Robbins." Arizona then pointed to the poster at the end of the desk, "I'm here for that."

The lady, whose nametag read Laura, peeked over the tall lobby desk and eyed the corner where Arizona's finger was pointing. "Of course, ma'am. You must be one of the judges. We weren't expecting you to arrive yet…" but her words were cut off by a severely underestimated blonde standing opposite of her.

"Excuse me? ...A judge? You think I'm a judge? Absolutely not. I am a fighter and I was told to be here today." her voice loud enough to capture the attention of a few people milling about the lobby area.

Laura's face blushed a crimson color and she quickly tried to salvage the situation before her manager is summoned. "My sincerest apologies Ms. Robbins. I, don't know, I think I just assumed given your small stature that you were here to judge. Please forgive me for my blatant error in judgment."

Appreciating the woman's honesty and humbleness to omit an error, Arizona replied, "Yea, okay. Whatever, you didn't know. But just as heads up, you know in the future, don't ever assume things. Wanna know why?"

All Laura could manage was a somber nod of her head.

"Because it makes an ass out of you and me. Get it? Assume… ass out of 'u' and 'me'?" Arizona smirked at her own joke and reached out to take the profered room key out of Laura's hand.

"Yes ma'am, I get it and believe me I will not be making any more assumptions." Laura could still feel her the redness in her face. It was as if the heat in the lobby had been cranked up 20 degrees in the last 2 minutes. "Your room number is 1502. Breakfast is served in the lobby every morning from 6am-10am, but we also offer full menu room service 24 hours a day. The conference rooms are on this floor, dining halls are on the 1st floor, the pool is located on the 2nd floor, business center on the 3rd floor, and the gym is on the 4th floor. Is there anything else I can do for you Ms. Robbins?"

"Nope, I think I'm good. Thank you Laura." Arizona replied as she reached for her suitcase and began wheeling it through the lobby towards the bank of elevators.

Once up on the 15th floor, Arizona slid the key card into the slot of room 1502 and waited for the green light to flash. After a long day of travel, all she could think about was taking a shower and maybe catching a few ZZZ's before finding the local watering hole. However, what awaited her in room was about to change all of that.

"Who the hell are you?" a shrill female voice shouted at Arizona as she wiggled through the narrow doorframe.

"I should be asking you the same thing!" Arizona barked back.

With a steadfast glare, the other woman spit back, "I asked you first".

"Fine. I'm Arizona Robbins, and you're in my room."

"Your room? Please, this is my room!" the mystery woman scoffed back. "You need to walk your little self back down to the front desk and get a new room because I was here first and I'm not leaving. I've got too much stuff to do before tomorrow morning to worry about getting another room assignment."

Arizona was now fuming for the second time in as little as ten minutes. This was not happening right now. With a deep breath, she calmly let out, "Why don't I just call the front desk and get this all sorted out because my ass is not going all the way back down to the lobby just to come all the way back up here when they tell me that this is, in fact, my room."

"Fine."

"Fine." Arizona repeated the dirty blonde haired woman who was still busy unpacking her suitcase. Arizona dropped her stuff onto the other, unoccupied queen bed in the room, reached for the phone, and pressed 0 for the front desk. "Guess it's going to suck when you have to take all those clothes out of the drawers and put them back into your suitcase when the front desk gives…"

"Front desk, this is Laura"

Arizona silently cursed as she realized she was going to have to deal with Laura yet again. "Hey Laura, it's Arizona Robbins up in room 1502… Yep, mmhmm, that's the one… Yea, so listen. I think there's been some kind of mix up. You see, because when I got to my room, well, there was already someone in it. So if you could just find them another room, I would greatly appreciate it." Arizona tried turning on a little southern charm in hopes of wooing the front desk attendant.

"Ms. Robbins, I am so sorry…again." Laura had never had to apologize to guest before and today she had had to apologize twice…to the same guest. "You said you are for the Ultimate Fighter, correct?"

"Yes, I believe we covered that downstairs in the lobby."

"Yes, well it says here in our computer system that each competitor is to be paired with a roommate. So that person in your room is not a stranger, well I mean I guess she sort of is, but she won't be for long, as she technically in the competition with you."

"Wonderful, okay well I guess that makes sense as to why there are two beds in the room instead of just one." Arizona was beginning to make sense of the mix up and quickly came to terms with the fact that she would not be alone in the room. "Thank you so much for all of your help, Laura… Yes, I will let her know… Goodbye."

"Looks like neither one of us are moving." Arizona spit out as she hopped off the bed and lifted her suitcase onto the luggage rack.

"What do you mean neither of us are moving? Is the hotel out of rooms or something?" the woman questioned as she watched Arizona begin to unpack her own things into the second dresser.

"Uh no, actually. Turns out we're both here for the same thing and according to the front desk all fighters are assigned a roommate." Arizona replied while removing her toiletry bag from the suitcase and walking into the large bathroom of the spacious hotel room. She noticed that the shower and toilet were separate from the sink and mirror area. _That's convenient_ she thought to herself, _one of us can shower while the other gets ready and we don't disturb each other. Unless she wants to be disturbed. She is pretty hot. Probably into dudes though. Which in and of itself is odd, you'd think most female fighters would be gay…turns out they're mostly straight. What a shame._ Arizona thoughts were interrupted by her roommate's reflection in the mirror.

"Wait, so you're a fighter too?" She asked. "Why didn't you lead with that? I'm Teddy Altman, nice to meet you…uh, sorry I forgot what you said your name was."  
"Arizona" she said turning around and sticking out her hand. "Arizona Robbins."

Teddy reached out and firmly shook Arizona's hand. "Sorry about all then when you came in. I guess if I had thought about it, it didn't make sense that there were two beds and one of me when I first got here."

"Ahh, forget about it. How were we supposed to know? It's not like they told us when we checked in or anything. We can just pretend like it never happened and start over as friends. You good with that?"

Teddy nodded her head, "Yea, I'm good with that. So, Arizona, where are you from?"

"Originally or most recently?" Arizona chuckled out.

"Let me guess, army brat?" Teddy asked with a speckle of hope in eye.

"Marines actually, but close enough. My dad was a Staff Sergeant, so we moved all over the place growing up. So, to answer your question the best I can, I was born in Germany, have lived in pretty much every corner of the world, and now call Alexandria, Virginia home."

"I honestly don't think I could've gotten a better roommate" Teddy exclaimed. "My dad served as well, though he was in the Army. So I guess I am technically the 'army brat'. I was born stateside but grew up mostly in the eastern hemisphere, places like Italy and Belgium. When I graduated high school, my mom got tired of moving for my dad, so he decided to take a desk job at Fort Irwin in California and that's where we live now."

The two women spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and chatting about all the different places they lived, comparing and contrasting Marine and Army bases, and soon they were fast friends.

At 5 o'clock on the dot there was a knock on their door. Arizona, having the bed closer to the door, was up first and answered it. Standing on the other side was a bellboy holding a silver tray. "This is for you and the other woman in the room," he stated while gesturing the tray towards Arizona.

On the tray Arizona could see a letter addressed to her and Teddy. She reached out, removed it from the tray, and said thank you to the bellboy. Back in the room she handed to letter to Teddy and said, "Apparently this is for us."

Teddy took the letter from Arizona and began reading out loud:

"Dear Ms. Altman & Ms. Robbins,

Welcome to Seattle and the Embassy Suites. I hope that you enjoy your first, and rare, carefree evening in the Emerald City. Beginning tomorrow morning, your journey to becoming the next Ultimate Fighter begins. Please be in Conference Room B tomorrow morning at 7 am, sharp. We will begin our orientation at precisely 7:05, so do not be late. On the back of this letter is the itinerary for tomorrow. I suggest you review it, and come to orientation prepared for a full day of training. Again, congratulations for begin selected to this tournament, it is quite an achievement.

Regards,

Richard Webber, Head Trainer"

"Well, I'm nervous now" Arizona admitted

Teddy nodded in agreement and turned the letter over to see what their day would look like tomorrow.

"6:00 am: Breakfast in the lobby (optional)

7:00 am: Report to Conference Room B

7:05- 9:05 am: Orientation

9:05-9:15 am: Break

9:15-9:45 am: Weigh-ins

9:45-10:45 am: Meet the trainers

10:45-11:30 am: Small groups

11:30-12:30 pm: Lunch in Dining Hall A

12:30-1:15 pm: Break

1:15-1:30 pm: Travel time

1:30-4:30 pm: Gym

4:30-4:45 pm: Travel time

4:45-5:30 pm: Shower

5:30-6:30 pm: Film study

6:30-7:30 pm: Dinner in Dining Hall A

7:30-8:30 pm: Recreation time

8:30-9:00 pm: Daily review

9:00 pm: Released

Damn they run a tight ship around here!" Teddy could hardly believe how rigid the schedule was.

Arizona echoed those same sentiments, "No shit, they aren't messing around when it comes to not wasting any time! So what should we do tonight, you know before every second of our day becomes accounted for?"

Teddy laughed at Arizona's silly yet 100% accurate comment. "I don't know about you, but I could use a drink and some dinner? I saw a cool joint around the corner from here on the way in. I think it's called Joe's if I am remembering correctly. We could head there, have a burger and ONE beer and then turn in for the night. Lord knows tomorrow is going to be hell and I don't want to be tired or have a hangover."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Arizona replied. "And hey, lets order room service for breakfast, I'd rather see the competition for the first time in orientation rather than standing in line for a Belgium waffle."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: So I wrote this chapter really fast and again it's a lot of laying out the structure of things. If anything is unclear when it comes to schedule or how things work just shoot me a PM and I'll try to explain. Otherwise, Enjoy!**

Chapter 4: _Orientation_

Showered and feeling refreshed from her run, Callie began sorting through the competitor files her boss had just dropped off when suddenly the phone in her hotel room started ringing. "Hello?"

"Callie, you want to look over these files together?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.

"Oh hey Bailey. Uh, yea, we can do that real quick. You want pop over to my room and we can do some reconnaissance on these girls before we hit the hay?" Callie replied. All Callie really wanted to do was to curl up in her king size bed, surround herself with pillows and mentally prepare herself for the 3 grueling months ahead. Don't misunderstand though, Callie loved her job. It was everything she dreamed it would be. Getting to mold and teach bright, young fighters whose eagerness dripped from their pores was an incredible honor. Callie had reached the pinnacle of her career, winning the championship in 2012 then defending her title belt in 2013 before she was offered the job as team trainer in the Ultimate Boxing Championship League. Now she got to take amateur fighters and turn them into greatness. What could be better?

"Yea, I'll be over in minute," Bailey matter-of-factly stated. Miranda Bailey was as fierce as trainers come. She stood all of 5 feet 2 inches but packed enough power in one punch to drop the highest and mightiest of them all. Her short stature proved to be an advantage against taller opponents, who usually underestimated her anyways. While they were swinging down, she was squarely landing uppercuts to their jaws and powerful body blows. The only fighter she ever succumbed to happen to be her co-trainer. Bailey and Torres met twice and only twice. Both fights were for the championship belt, with Callie prevailing both times. After it was announced that Callie was retiring to take a training position with the UBCL, Miranda knew it was her time to shine. An unfortunate gym accident caused Miranda to slow down her training and eventually forced her into an early retirement. Two days after announcing that she would no longer be competing, Bailey got a call from her then nemesis, Callie, who offered her a job as trainer along side of her at the Ultimate Fighter, boxing series. Without hesitation, Bailey accepted and moved out to Seattle where she and her now friend trained the up and coming women of the boxing world.

Two quick raps on her door announced the arrival of her partner. Callie got off her bed and went to let Bailey in. "You ready for tomorrow, Miranda?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. What time do we have to be in the conference room?"

Callie took out the schedule that Webber had dropped off with the competitors' files. "Says here weigh-ins are over at 9:45 tomorrow morning and 'Meet the trainers' is after that. So, 9:45, but lets meet in lobby at 9:30." Callie suggested.

"That sounds good. Now how do we want to play this? All rough and tough with scowls and glares, or smiles and waves?" Bailey was clearly excited for tomorrow's introductions.

Callie let out a giggle and rolled her gorgeous, chocolate eyes at her partner. "Let's go for a combination of both those. I want our demeanor to say 'tough as nails, but approachable', does that work for you?"

Bailey nodded while contorting her face in different ways, trying to convey what Callie suggested. "Are you going to tell them your nickname?" she asked Callie.

"Damn it Bailey, it was only 3 noses and a jaw!" Callie huffed back.

Bailey so easily knew how to push Callie's buttons and did it every chance she got. "Chill Torres, I was only kidding. Besides you should be thankful. Callie ' _The Bone Doctor'_ Torres is wayyyyy better than being Miranda _'The Nazi'_ Bailey!"

Callie thought about what Bailey said for a moment, and the quipped, "Yea, I don't think I'd ever want to be associated with Hitler and Nazi Germany. Sucks to be you!"

The two women laughed at each other's verbal jousts and then settled themselves into looking at their team.

Bailey picked up the first name on the pile and began reading, "Isobel Stevens, 5'7", super-lightweight, 65 inch wingspan, yada-yada-ya…best known for winning Pride of Heartland Boxing Invitational, 2014."

"Isn't that competition outdated?" Callie asked

Without hesitation, Bailey replied, "If you ask me, yes. They exanded the competitor list from 20 women to 75, and you don't have to even win a previous fight to qualify. You just pay the $200 entrance fee and fight one round until there's only one woman left standing. So congratulations Ms…" Bailey had to look back down at the file to remember the name. "Ms. Stevens, you're clearly off to a great start."

"Damn Bailey, you've got a mean streak going against that one already! Okay let's see here, next we have Addison Montgomery, 5'8", welterweight, wingspan 64 inches. Wow for being so tall, this woman's got short arms. That should give here an interesting fighting strategy, tall and strong but not a long reach." Looking from Bailey back down to Addison's file, Callie continued, "She is best known for winning New York High School Boxing State Championship, Manhattan's Women's Amateur Championship, and most recently The New England's Boxing Club Championship Title."

"Wow, that's quite a list of accomplishments." Bailey stated

"It is. But, Bailey, keep in mind all those tournaments have weight classes and then age ranges within those classes. So she might have only had to fight one or two other women to actually earn the title."

 _Tsk, tsk_ , Bailey clicked with her tongue. "You are always looking at the glass half empty, Torres."

Bailey was awarded another roll of dark brown eyes, "No, I'm just being practical. We can't build these women up too much before we've even laid eyes on them."

"Fine. Next." Bailey and Callie went quickly through the next five women. Rattling off names, heights, weights, what their claim to fame was up to this point. "Yang, 5'something, won Stanford's Women in Boxing title 3 years in a row. Kepner, also five-something, barely made competition weight class, best known for winning The Midwest Future Farmers of America Boxing Classic." When she didn't get a response from her co-worker, Bailey looked up to see Callie deep in thought staring at another one of the competitor's files. "You hear what I said? Future Farmer of America! Is that not the damndest thing you've ever heard" Bailey choked out in between fits of giggles.

"Yea, yea, I heard. Listen to this though…best known for Commonwealth District 4 State Title, Southeast and Northeast Boxing Championship titles, Mason-Dixon Line Classic, Overseas Boxing League Title three different times, Hawaii's Honolulu Invitational, Southern California's Regional Boxing Tournament Champion, and last but not least Unites States Armed Services Amateur Boxing Champion." Callie lowered the piece of paper and shifted her gaze to Bailey, who was staring back at her, mouth wide open in awe.

"Now that is a list of accomplishments. Who is that and how are we only just now hearing about this woman?"

Callie lifted the piece of paper back up to eyes and read, "Arizona Robbins."

Both women sat in silence for a moment and let all the accomplishments of one Arizona Robbins really sink in. Bailey was first to break the silence, "She's going to be the one to beat, I'm calling it right now."

"You can never be too sure, Bailey, but looking at it from a resume standpoint…yes. This Robbins chick is going to be a tough knock out."

Bailey began re-sorting all of her files and organizing them into a neat stack. "Ok so to review real quick before I go, we've got: Isobel Stevens, who we know nothing about; Addison Montgomery, the New Yorker; Cristina Yang, Stanford's pride and joy; Theodora _aka Teddy_ Altman, unofficially trained by the Army's Corps of Boxers; Lexie Grey and Meredith Grey, the sister's from separate misters; Arizona Robbins, the apparent all-star; and April Kepner, the farmgirl."

"Sounds about right. I'll be interested to put names to faces and to see what the guys get to deal with this year." Callie casually stated while cleaning up her pile of paperwork. "Do you know who they ended up hiring to help Derek train this year? I still can't believe that Starks negotiated his way out of the contract. What a douche bag."

"I was never a big fan of his anyways, so I actually don't mind that he's gone. And yes, he got here this morning while you were at the gym. His name Mark Stone, I think." Said Bailey as she made her way to the door. It was nearing midnight and she and Callie needed to get some halfway decent rest before they reported for duty tomorrow morning.

Callie' eyes went wide with excitement. "You mean Mark Sloan? THE Mark Sloan is here…to train…alongside us?"

"Oh is it Sloane? I could've sworn it was Stone" Bailey mused while shrugging her shoulders.

"Seriously, Bailey." Callie deadpanned. "You know how much of a fan I am of his. I was ringside when I saw him knockout Xavier Bennett in the 10th round of the heavyweight title fight." Callie started mimicking the punch sequence Sloan threw of that fight. "Left hook, right upper, body, body, body, duck, left upper, right hook to the temple, done. Title won."

"Good god woman, keep it in your pants. I thought you'd be happy but that was just weird." Bailey grabbed the door handle before looking back to her partner one last time. "Night Torres, see you in the morning."

Callie still on cloud nine after hearing the news of latest trainer, "Goodnight Bailey, see you in lobby, 9:30."

* * *

 _Err…err…err…err_. "Turn it off!" Teddy angrily mumbled.

"I'm trying," Arizona whispered back, her hand fumbling around the bedside table in search of the offending alarm clock. Finally finding it, she slapped the top of it and plunged the room back into silence.

"What time is it?" Teddy's groggy voice asked

"6:02. Time to get up Teds. Breakfast will be here in 28 minutes. We need to shower, get dressed and eat to be in the conference room in about an hour." Arizona stated as she peeled the warm covers back, sat up and kicked her feet out onto the floor. "I'll shower first since you appear to be a little slower this morning.

"So what, I'm not a morning person, sue me!" Teddy spit back. "Wait, before you get in the shower, what are you going to wear for the first day?"

Arizona huffed, "Seriously? That's what your concerned about right now, what to wear?"

"Well yea, I want to make a good first impression. Don't you?" Teddy gave Arizona a cheesy smile. "C'mon, you know you've thought about it. What're you going to wear?"

Okay so maybe Arizona had put some thought into it. She wanted the other competitors to see her as a threat, but also something they could be friends with. You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. "Well the letter yesterday said to come prepared for training, right? So with that in mind, I'll probably put on a pair of Nike spandex shorts, then a pair of running pants over those, sports bra, heat gear tank top, and my Marine Corps hoodie, unzipped."

"Yeah, you didn't put any thought into that, at all," Teddy snickered at her roommate and friend. "Alright I'll do something along those lines too then."

With clean bodies and full bellies, the two friends left their room right at 6:50 with gym bags in hand and made their way down to the lobby where the conference rooms were located. When the elevators opened to the marble lobby, the girls joined the small crowd gathering outside the conference room's double doors. They took a moment to discretely scan the crowd and get their first look at their competition. Right off the bat, they both noticed a taller redhead with bright green eyes. Arizona's focus then took her to a scrawny Asian woman who was talking animatedly with brunette.

Teddy's watch was directed from the tall redhead to a shorter redhead who had ear buds in and was jotting notes down in a small journal. Others in the crowd consisted of a tall blonde talking and laughing with a group of male competitors, and lastly another short, brunette who looked completely out of place, minus the boxing league sweatshirt she had on.

"Whatcha think?" Teddy whispered to Arizona

After looking around at the crowd once more, Arizona turned to Teddy and replied, "Never judge a book by its cover, Teddy, never."

Not two seconds after finishing her statement, the doors of the conference room opened and a tall, dark, and handsome man was ushering the crowd in. "Come in, come in. Thank you for being on time. Please find a seat and quiet down so we can get started." His voice boomed

The conference room had 16 chairs set up in two rows of eight facing a podium at the front of the room. Teddy and Arizona sat next to each other on the back row. The man that had let them into the room slowly approached the podium and cleared his throat. "Good morning fighters, my name is Richard Webber. I am the head trainer in charge here for the tournament. A little bit later this morning you will meet the other trainers, but for now, it's just me. First, we're going start by introducing yourselves. Then I'll begin going over protocols and how this whole tournament works. Please stand up, state your name and where you're from. Start with you redhead on the front row."

The redhead stood up and began speaking, "Hi, I'm April Kepner and I'm from a small city outside Columbus, Ohio." Next, "Hi. Cristina Yang. From San Diego."

Next, "Uh, Alex Karev. Des Moines, Iowa."; "Hello, my name is Jackson Avery, I am from Boston."; "Owen Hunt, Seattle native."; "Good morning, I'm Preston Burke. I am from Baton Rouge, down in Louisiana."; "Hi, Lexie Grey, also Seattle native. Thank you."; "Isobel Stevens, Ms. September if you guys know what I'm saying *wink*, I'm from Madison, Wisconsin."

"Back row now" Richard's voice summoned

"Hi. Meredith Grey. Before you ask, yes I am related to Lexie. From Seattle originally but lived on east coast too."; "Morning, I'm Addison Montgomery. New York City."

Teddy stood up, "Teddy Altman, born in Georgia." Short, sweet and to the point, she sat down and then glanced to her roommate who was already on her feet.

"Arizona Robbins, Alexandria, Virginia." That's all these strangers needed to know. The less details the better. Quickly Arizona noticed that the seats were taken in pairs. Two girls or two guys, _everyone must be sitting with their roommate_ she thought.

"Hey guys, I'm Shane Ross. I'm from Dallas, Texas. Go Cowboys!" audible groans were heard after his endorsement.

"Uh let's keep it professional," Webber commanded from behind the podium. "Next, please."

"Hello, name's George O'Malley. Place is Philadelphia"; "Hi, Benjamin Warren, but please call me Ben. Born and raised in Oakland, California."; and last but not least "Andrew DeLuca, Jersey."

Once the last competitor finished giving their spiel, Richard took back the attention of the audience. "Now that was just a preliminary introduction, you will get to know each other much better over the next couple of months. Next, I am going to go over your tentative schedule for the twelve weeks. I say tentative because some of you will be here for all of that time, most of you will not. It's harsh, but that's the reality of the competition you currently find yourselves in. Here's how this works: Starting today May 9th you are officially in competition. The first five weeks, that's Sunday, May 9th through Sunday, June 13th, will be rigorous training six days a week followed by one day off. Starting Monday, June 14th, which is the start of the sixth week, the actual competition starts. That's when people will start to go home. People, listen to me, June 14th is when everything changes. Your training schedules will differ slightly, but more than anything your mentality will change. Right now it's about learning, not just about yourself, but also about boxing. You have a wealth of boxing knowledge available at your fingertips, so use it. Hit the gym hard every day, consult you're your trainers, watch film, ask questions: build yourself up as fighter. Do all of this so that come competition time, you're ready to win each fight." As Richard began to explain the structure of the tournament, Arizona was getting more and more excited. Sure she could fight, but she'd never been trained, she had never been taught techniques or a real strategy to the art boxing. This was where the culmination of her physical work was going to meet the mental side of the game.

"Before I get into how the competition works, let's first go over your five weeks schedule. Here," he said handing a stack of papers to April who still sat on the end of the first row, "take on and pass 'em down. Look these over while I quickly hit the high points.

Arizona got her hands on a schedule and skimmed the sheet.

 **Week 1-Week 5 Daily Training Schedule:**

6:00-7:00 am: Breakfast in lobby

7:15 am: Report to bus

7:15-7:30 am: Travel time

7:30-11:30 am: Training (varies day-to-day, see below)

11:30-12:00 pm: Showers

12:00-12:15 pm: Travel time

12:15-1:15 pm: Lunch (Dining Hall A)

1:15-2:00 pm: Free Time

2:00-2:15 pm: Travel time

2:15-4:15 pm: Training

4:15-4:45 pm: Showers

4:45-5:00 pm: Travel time

5:00-6:00 pm: Film Study

6:00-7:00 pm: Dinner (Dining Hall A)

7:00-8:30 pm: Recreation time

8:30-9:00 pm: Daily review

9:00 pm: Released

 **Training Schedule Breakdown:**

Monday's- Large group training (separated by male and female)

Tuesday's- Individual Training

Wednesday's- Small group training (pairs or groups of three)

Thursday's- Co-Ed training (male/female partners)

Friday's- Large group training (separated by male and female)

Saturday's- Small group training & Challenge Day

Sunday's- OFF

Richard gave everyone a chance to read the schedules and then started to go over them. "As you all can see, we are essentially working on two-a-days here. We will go to the gym in the morning for a hard three hour work out, which will include two short fifteen minute breaks for you to hydrate and eat a snack provided to you. You'll clean up at the gym and then we will bus you back here for lunch. We will always meet just outside the front doors to get on and off the bus, and we will always eat in dining hall A. After lunch, you have a rest period of 45 minutes for your meal to settle. Then it's back on the bus and back to the gym for afternoon workouts. Now the morning workout schedule is found on the bottom of this sheet, but you dictate the afternoon workout. You can choose if you want to lift weights, spar with partner, work one-on-one with a trainer, totally up to you. The only thing you can't do is to do nothing at all. By five o'clock we will be back here for film study. Now film study is a new concept this year. We will be showing you film from a high profile fight, as the tape rolls the other trainers and myself will break down the fight, analyzing strategies and missteps to help the sixteen of you become better. Film study is followed by dinner and recreational time. Rec time can be anything from a movie and popcorn to board games, to simply more free time. You're never required to attend events, but they are available to you for moral and bonding. Last item on the schedule is daily review. You will meet for 10 minutes one of your trainers to discuss your performance at the gym that day and to set goals for yourself. At 9pm you are done for the day, and I suggest at that point most of you go to bed. It won't be all that draining at first, but after a week or two of this schedule you will be praying for nine o'clock to roll around, trust me. Any questions?"

A couple hands went in the air and Richard went back over a couple of the easy to understand explanations. "Okay, let's move to the 'Breakdown' part of the schedule. All of these are fairly self-explanatory, but I want to quickly go over Saturday's schedule with you. On Saturday afternoons when you get to the gym, there will be a challenge laid out to you. Everyone has the same challenge; it is only broken down between males and females. For example, it could be a sit-up challenge. Whichever male does the most sit-ups and whichever female does the most sit-ups will be rewarded."

"What's the reward?" Karev interrupted.

"Thank you asking", Webber continued from where he was forced to leave off, "the winner from each group gets a paid for steak dinner for him or her and guest from Oak Steakhouse. Everyone else eats here at the hotel."

Every one of the competitors let out an excited gasp and plastered on a big smile as they thought of the prospect of wining a big, juicy steak. Arizona was determined to have as many of those steaks as she possibly could. Who she would take, she had no clue. Probably Teddy as none of the women here were really jumping out at her as potential prospects.

Webber looked down at his watch, always wanting to stay punctual. "Ok, so normally I would go over the competition schedule next but we are scheduled to go on break now. You have ten minutes to strip down to your skivvies and get next door for the weigh-ins. Keep in mind, whatever your weight is today just places you into a class for this week. We will re-weigh you every week to make sure that you are training for the right weight class. Don't worry too much about that for the first five weeks, but when the competition starts, you weight will be much more important. Dismissed."

Teddy and Arizona filed out of the meeting room and into the women's bathroom with the other six female competitors. Neither one of them spoke, they just listened as the other women talked about the men at the competition and which ones they were going to start flirting with. When Lexie and Izzie started arguing about who got Alex Karev, Arizona decided she'd heard enough. "I'm outta here" she said as she nudged Teddy in the ribs.

"Right behind you, rooms" Teddy replied. Both women had been in there long enough to take their hoodies, tanks, and tennis shoes off and were now walking to conference room C to be weighed. There were two scales in the room, one with a couple boys in line already and one with no one in line. "That one must be for the girls," Teddy offered as she stepped up to the contraption.

"Last name" came the voice holding a clipboard.

"Altman."

"Thank you, step on." The woman fiddle with the slide weights and finally got the scale to balance. "141. Thank you, you can go get re-dressed and return to the conference room next door. Next….Last name."

"Robbins."

"Thank you, step on." The woman again played with the weights until the scale perfectly balanced. "137. Thank you, you can go get re-dressed and return to the conference room next door. Next….Last name."

Arizona re-joined Teddy in the next room and the two compared their weights and what that meant for their training later that day. No more than 15 minutes later, weigh-ins were over and the competitors had reclaimed all the chairs in the conference room. Richard Webber then strode back in through the double doors and again stood behind the podium. "It's now time for you to meet your trainers for this years competition. It is with great pleasure that I bring them in now and introduce them to you. Trainers, please enter." With that, the two double doors again swung open and in walked four new faces, first two men, then two women. They walked to front of the room and stood next to Richard.

Arizona's mouth had long since gone dry. She was pretty sure the world stopped spinning and she had to remind herself how to breathe. "Wow," was all she could manage.

Teddy leaned closer in to her and whispered, "I know right, the one on the left is like _dayyum!_ " But when Teddy looked at Arizona, she saw her focus somewhere else, rather on someone else. "Wait, Arizona, who are you looking at?"

"Holy Mary, Mother of…Teddy, pinch me. Pinch me so I know if this is a dream or not." Arizona stuck her hand in the general vicinity of where she Teddy was sitting. "Ouch, shit, that hurt!" she yelled in a whisper.

"You said to pinch you, so I did." Teddy said flatly. "Arizona, which one are you looking at? The one with a beard or the one with out a beard?"

"Huh? What? No beard, definitely no beard."

Teddy gave her a quizzical look, "Really, I think the one with the beard is way cuter!"

Arizona turned and looked at Teddy gave her a sympathetic look, knowing what she was about to say was going to throw her roommate for a loop. "Teddy, I'm not looking at what you're looking at. I could care less about the man with a beard just like I could care less about the man without a beard."

"Then who are you drooling over?" Teddy impatiently questioned.

"Her." Arizona said nonchalantly pointing at the Latina woman standing in the front of the room. "I don't think I have ever seen a woman as beautiful as she is in my entire life. Look at her Teddy, look at those curves! My god, what a beautiful, beautiful, woman."

"Wait, you're gay?" Teddy asked in astonishment.

Here it comes, the answer that has turned more people in her life away than she cares to remember, "Yes, Teddy. I am gay."

"Oh, cool." Teddy stated before turning her attention back to Webber who was about to introduce the four trainers.

"Training the men this year we have veteran coach Derek Shepherd and new comber to the competition Mark Sloan." Each man raised his hand as Webber called their name, then they received a warm round of applause from the sixteen competitors sitting in chairs. "Next we have our returning duo of women's trainers Ms. Miranda Bailey and Ms. Callie Torres." Again the women raised their hand as their names were called so the competitors would know who was who. Then they too were welcomed with applause.

"Callie Torres" Arizona breathed. That name sounded good on her lips.

The rest of the day wore on as they were, shown where they were to be picked up and dropped off by the bus, walked through routines at the gym and introduced to the halfway decent hotel food they would be consuming for the next three months. At nine o'clock that night they were released from their introductory day and allowed to return to their rooms for the night. Knowing they had a full, first real day of training starting early the next morning, Teddy and Arizona decided to call it a night. They changed and climbed in to their beds. Arizona set her alarm, said goodnight to her roommate, and fell asleep thinking about how she could make Callie Torres fall in love with her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: So this is a long chapter (I doubt anyone's complaining), but that's why it's taken me about a week to post. Lot's going on both in the story and in my life. Tried to break it into two chapters, but the flow of the story just wouldn't allow for that. Anyways, more build up, a little drama. Hope you like it.**

Chapter 5:

The first few days of training went by awfully slow. The trainers were still trying to get a feel for their new prospects, and the competitors were too concerned with sizing each other up to really get into the routines. By Thursday afternoon, the tension in the room could've been cut with a knife.

It was co-ed training day, though much training wasn't being done. The women were willing to spar with the men, but most of them men were refusing to 'downgrade' their skills to match that of the female fighters. Their refusal to comply with the training guidelines only added to the palpable hostility of the group. Someone had to do something and soon, or this bunch of boxers weren't going to make it through the first week.

The trainers stood in a semicircle in the corner of the gym and watched their fledgling group of fighters struggle to make any visible progress. "This is ridiculous. How the fuck are we suppose to train them if they clearly don't want to put in the effort?" Marks voice cut through the silence the four of them had shared.

"This is the just the fourth day, we need to cut them some slack. They'll come around. Remember last year?" Bailey asked, looking directly at Callie and Derek. "It took that group a solid eight days to come together. You're just new at this Mark, you'll see." Bailey always tried to be the voice of reason.

Callie was on the fence. She knew Miranda was right, but she also thought this group needed a bigger push. She'd never seen such disdain on the faces of complete strangers before, and it was a little unsettling. Sure there needed to be a certain level of animosity between the fighters, after all in five weeks time they would be actually fighting each other. But that was still five, long, grueling, sweat and tears filled, weeks away. No, Mark was right. It was time to intervene, not only on the training side of things but also on the social side as well.

Looking around the room again and seeing that the few partners who had attempted to train together had now taken off their gloves and moved to sit with their friends, Callie spoke up. "Marks right, Miranda. We need to step in. Last year, it did take longer for the group to mesh, but that group never had looks of pure hate in their eyes, and that's what I see in some of these competitors. Especially that one right there." She said, pointing to Preston Burke who was glaring across the room at Alex Karev, Jackson Avery, and Owen Hunt.

"So what do we do?" Shepherd finally asked.

With a tilt of his head and an audible grunt, Mark walked from the corner where he stood with the trainers to the middle of the gym where the boxing ring stood. He took the four stairs leading to the canvas two at a time and walked to the center of the ring. Three sets of eyes were on him, Shepherd's, Bailey's and Callie's. No one else seemed to notice, all too busy casting death glares to their opponents or gossiping with their roommates about the other people in the room.

"This is where your life changes." His booming voice causing half the women to jump to attention. "This is where you prove your worth." Slowly but surely, all the eyes in the room began to focus on the trainer in the center of the ring. "This is where two of you will earn the right to say you chased your dream." Mark then walked from the center of the ring to the side facing all the competitors, leaned on the ropes and continued a make-it-up-as-he-goes speech that he hoped would finally unite this group for the next few weeks. His voice was not as loud as it had been to capture their attention, but forceful enough to keep them focused on what he was about to lay on them.

"This ring is where the sixteen of you will prove yourselves, not out there. You don't want to train, fine. You don't want to seek help from four the best boxing trainers this side of the Mississippi, fine. But what you won't do is tear each other down before the challenge even begins. Do you even realize the opportunity that is literally right in front of you? You have the chance that most people fantasize about. You have the chance to make your dreams come true, and all of you are too busy pissing it away by staring at each other than actually doing something about it. Me? I had to work my way up from the bottom. I didn't get a letter saying 'here come learn from the best and become a superstar'. I had a dingy gym in a po-dunk town. There was one punching bag, a set of free weights and a ring, that's it. I worked harder than anyone in that town to get where I am today. I trained harder than you could possibly imagine. Making every day tasks and chores into a training exercise. Picked fights with older guys just to have someone to fight against. You, psh, you've been handed a golden ticket to the top. Don't waste it." Mark took a moment to look at the faces of the sixteen people who were now enraptured with the story of how he came to be a champion. He noticed that some of them still had a little bit of hatred in their eyes, but most were understanding the point he was trying to make.

"I know you all are looking at each other and seeing nothing but competition, and in a way that's good because in the end that's what this boils down to. But right now, right now you're just members of a gym, trying to get in better shape. We…" he said, pointing at the three other trainers standing wide-eyed in the corner, "We are your personal trainers. It's our job to help you get into shape. The twenty of us are a team and it's time you recognize that. No more of this staring contest bullshit. You are adults for God-sake." His voice was now getting louder and angrier in an effort to really bring his point across. "You want to be here, to learn from us, to improve your skills? Then prove it. Tomorrow when you get here I want a different attitude from each and every one of you, or I will personally petition to Webber and the judges to have you removed from the challenge. If you're not willing to work hard for what you want, then you don't deserve to be here." Mark was really getting worked up now, his face getting red from screaming and the vein on the side of his neck was protruding. "Now, get your shit together and get out of my gym. I don't want selfish slackers in here tarnishing the sweat and hard work of those that came before you. You're dismissed for the rest of the day. Get out!"

No one moved. He couldn't really kick them out of the gym. They still had 45 minutes left of their afternoon workout and the rest of the evening devoted to film study and reviewing. "OUT!" Mark's voice startled everyone in the group and this time they knew he meant it. They all scrambled from their spots in front of the ring to collect their things and head to the locker rooms. "And no showers, you didn't work hard enough today. You can sit in your gym clothes and think about how you can improve for fifteen minutes on the bus. I think you'll live." Man, Mark was not messing around with this group.

The room cleared out leaving only the four trainers in a quiet gym. "Well I think they got the message." Shepherd voiced in a hopeful tone as he walked toward the front of the gym. Stopping before he opened the opened the door, Derek looked back over his shoulder and called to Mark, "Good speech Mark, I really do think you got through to them."

Bailey shook her head, grinned at Mark, and sarcastically said, "And they call me 'The Nazi'", before following Derek out the door and towards their waiting SUV. Since there are only four trainers, a shuttle bus wasn't necessary. They just get carted around in a suburban.

Callie had been waiting for a moment alone with Mark since she found out he was the fourth trainer. "Well, that was quite an emphatic speech you gave there, Mr. Sloan." She said, making sure to raise her voice a couple octaves and flash him her signature smile. Everyone swooned at her smile and Callie knew it. Not only was Mark an all-star boxer, but he was quite possibly the most beautiful man Callie had ever seen. She wanted, no needed, to get to know this stunning handsome man.

"So since you gave the group, or really forced them, into a night off…would you want to maybe get a drink at the hotel tonight or something?" Callie asked confidently.

Mark, who had been busy packing up his gym gear, slung his duffle bag over his shoulders and replied, "Sure, I wouldn't mind spending my evening with a pretty woman. Let's meet in the hotel bar at say 7:30?"

Happily surprised that Mark accepted her invitation to spend some alone time together, Callie agreed to his time suggestion and the two of them walked out of the gym together and into their waiting ride.

* * *

Arizona was not happy about being dismissed from the gym today. She agreed with every work Mark had spoken in the ring. She wasn't there to mess around, she wasn't there to piss away a chance at glory. She wanted to make use of every opportunity presented to her, and being forced to leave early was certainly not an opportunity. After everything she'd been through in the last few years, her life _finally_ seemed to be turning around. Or at least she hoped it was starting to. Mark's words really cut into her. It wasn't her fault that no one would participate. She'd only asked every single one of the men to train with her, only to be turned down everyone except for a guy named George. George was an okay sparring partner. His hands were slow, but his feet were quick. Arizona was a smart fighter though. She anticipated his footwork before George would make his move, and that paired with slow hands made him no match for Arizona. After landing several ringing punches over the course of their 30 minute battle, George raised his white flag and retreated back to the group of men.

Once back in her hotel room, Arizona showered and put on a pair of Marine Corps sweats, deciding to settle in for a cozy, lonely night. Maybe she and Teddy could order room service and talk training strategy. _Speaking of Teddy, where is my roommate?_ Arizona thought.

Almost immediately after having that thought, Arizona heard the tell-tale sound of a card being swiped and her room door being opened. "Hey, were your ears just burning?" she cheerfully asked Teddy

"No, why?" Teddy said solemnly

"I was just wondering where you were. Hadn't seen you since you since we got back from the gym over an hour ago." As Teddy walked further into the room, Arizona noticed that her cheeks were red and eyes looked a little puffy. "Everything okay Teds?"

Avoiding Arizona's steady gaze, Teddy tried to hide a sniffle in the sleeve of her hoodie and replied, "Yea, I'm fine."

"No you're not." Arizona countered

"Zona, please. Please don't push me on this right now. I can't…" Tears started flowing from Teddy's eyes as she tried to get Arizona to drop the subject.

Arizona was torn between leaving the situation alone or comforting here undeniably upset friend. "Okay, I won't say—" but she was cut of by a heart-wrenching sob that escaped Teddy's mouth. Arizona jumped up from her lying down position on the bed and enveloped her roommate into a bone crushing hug. "Teddy, talk to me." Arizona pleaded as she rubbed her hand up and down Teddy's back. Arizona guided her down onto the edge the bed and went on, "You know you can trust me with whatever is going on. I know most of the people here have been nothing but mean and rude to each other, but that's not us. We were raised better than that, and I truly have your back. No matter what."

Teddy's breathing started to return to normal as she and Arizona remained seated on the side of her bed. Teddy wiped her eyes and nose then inhaled a deep breath further calming herself down. "It's Henry."

"Who's Henry?" Arizona asked quickly thinking back to all of their previous conversations, trying to recall if that name had ever been mentioned before.

Teddy took another deep breath, "Henry is my boyfriend. I didn't say anything about him before because I didn't want people to know I was in a relationship. I thought if everyone knew they might see it as some kind of weakness. Like they could use my relationship as some kind of mind game against me. I guess when I say that out loud it doesn't make much sense." Teddy voice trailed off.

Arizona pondered Teddy's reasoning for a minute before saying, "I think I get what you're saying, but that's no reason to hide the person you care about. I think it's great that you've got someone to care about. I'm kind of jealous actually."

"Thanks, I guess."

"So what about Mr. Henry has got you so upset?" Arizona asked, her nosey side getting the best of her.

Teddy sniffled again, clearly the memory of whatever happened shot through here at Arizona's question. "He was in a car accident. A pretty bad one. His mom called me as we were getting off the bus at the hotel. Said he was driving up the Pacific Coast Highway visiting some college friends in Malibu, when a guy who was texting lost control of his car and careened right into oncoming traffic. Right into Henry." Teddy's voice was completely devoid of any emotion as she recounted the event to Arizona. "He was airlifted to Cedar-Sinai hospital in LA. He's stable for now but in the ICU. His mom said that the next couple of days are crucial. Their main concern is his brain. Apparently there was blunt force trauma to his skull when he slammed into the steering wheel and front dash. They are monitoring him for a brain bleed and swelling, so he's in an induced coma until they are sure it's safe for him to wake up."

Arizona sat slack-jawed listening to the horrible account of what had happened to her friend's boyfriend. "Oh my God, Teddy. I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to go get Webber and we can see if he will allow you a couple days to get down to LA and be there with Henry?"

"That was my first instinct, to get the hell out of here and back down to California, but Sheila, Henry's mom, wouldn't have it. She told me she knows how hard I've worked to be here and how mad Henry will be at me when he wakes up to see me sitting there instead of the gym learning up here." Teddy let out a small laugh at the thought of her boyfriend being mad to find her at his bedside. "She told me to stay here and she would call as soon as she knew something, or if anything changes. Granted if his health deteriorates at all, my ass will be on the next flight to LAX."

"Well, let's stay positive and pray that Henry continues to get better. I'll be right here no matter what." Arizona couldn't believe the day's events but vowed to be there for her friend no matter what. "Henry's mom sounds awesome, by the way. She must really get you to know that you should be her instead of there." Arizona added.

"Yea, she's pretty great. Henry and I have been together for a long time, going on 7 years so she knows where my heart lies…with Henry and in the ring."

There was brief pause in their conversation before Arizona decided to change the subject and try to lighten the mood. "I was going to just hang out in the room tonight, but now I'm thinking we could use a little relaxation? Why don't we get dressed up-ish and go down to the fancy hotel restaurant tonight? Treat ourselves to a couple drinks and better food than whatever crap they were going to serve us in the dining hall?"

"That sounds amazing because I could totally use a drink, but what does 'dressed up-ish' mean?", Teddy chuckled at the odd phrasing.

Arizona thought about what she meant before answering, "Like better than our normal outfits of spandex or sweats and hoodie, but less than formal evening dinner."

"That sounds doable", Teddy agreed. "I got to shower first though, think we could be ready in 45 minutes? That should put us downstairs around 7:30?"

Arizona looked at the clock on her bedside table, then scrunched her nose while she did some mental math, "Yea, I should be able to get dressed and ready in that time!"

At that, both women went about their routines of getting ready. Dressing up just enough to avoid being recognized as the fighters other hotel guests were now whispering about, but not so much as to draw attention to themselves for being overly dressed in a semi-crowded hotel restaurant. As 7:30 approached, Arizona gave herself one more good look in the mirror. The cobalt blue scoop neck blouse she wore, accented with a light layer of make-up she had applied really made her eyes pop. Her shirt also gave an onlooker just enough cleavage to grab their attention but not enough to make her feel self-conscious. Her white, mid-calf cropped pants were tight enough to highlight her toned legs and amazing ass. "Should I wear flats or wedges?" Arizona called out to Teddy who was still using the bathroom mirror to put the finishing touches on her own make-up.

"Wedges, definitely wedges." Teddy replied without skipping a beat. Satisfied with her reflection, Teddy set down her mascara and exited to the bathroom to find her roommate slipping her shoes on. "Damn Robbins, you clean up good. If I didn't have a man, I'd definitely be all up on that!"

"Thank you, I think." Arizona gave her roommate an odd look. That wasn't something she'd thought about, especially since she was most definitely straight and most definitely in a committed relationship. "You ready?" she asked, wanting to get the show on the road. It was time for some alcohol.

"Yea, let's head down. I'm hungry and definitely thirsty!"

* * *

She knew she was early, but she didn't mind waiting. Callie had been sitting at the bar for about 10 minutes waiting for Mark to arrive to their rendez-vous. She wasn't as nervous as she thought she might have been. She was more excited to get to know the phenom that was Mark Sloan. As she took another long sip of her red wine, Callie turned to the entrance of restaurant hoping to see Mark walk in. Immediately her heart started to beat wildly in her chest, she felt her mouth go dry and momentarily forgot how to breathe. She had never seen someone so breathtaking before in her entire life. Never had anyone taken her breath away or made her forget where she was. Shaking her head and trying to clear her thoughts before she was caught ogling, Callie diverted her gaze just in time to see the chair pull out next to her. She hadn't even noticed Mark walk in the restaurant and mosey over to where she was sitting. Her full attention had been given to the gorgeous blonde in blue, who has strolled in, mere seconds in front of Mark. Before acknowledging Mark's arrival, Callie made one more effort to look at the blonde again. _Damn she's pretty._ She thought. _Look at that smile, those dimples. Holy fuck!_ _But who's she with? Why does her friend look so familiar? Maybe this whole thing with Mark will go terribly and I can dip out to go introduce myself to her?_

"Earth to Callie," Mark waved his hand in front of her face trying to pull his fellow trainer out of whatever thought had consumed her.

 _Shit, busted!_ "Hey! Sorry, I was trying to remember if I unplugged my hair straightener," she lied. "Pretty sure I did, so we're good." Hopefully that sounded believable enough for him.

Mark seemed thoroughly amused by his new friends unease, "No, worries. I see you already got a drink so is there any use in me offering to buy you one?"

Had Callie not seen that blonde walk in first, she would've jumped all over the chance to have Mark Sloan buy her a drink. Now? Now she was thrilled to death that she had gotten impatient and ordered herself around prior to his arrival. "Umm, how about the next one?", she half-heartedly suggested.

"You got it." Mark eagerly agreed as he attempted to flag down the bartender to place his own drink order. "Dewars on the rocks, please," he rattled off his drink order before glancing back to Callie and asking her, "You hungry? Want to order an appetizer or something?"

Again, had Mark walked in before this mystery woman Callie would have been all over having appetizers, maybe a light dinner, followed by dessert, in her room of course. But now she just wanted to have a drink, maybe talk a little boxing or training and the politely excuse herself. "I'm okay actually, not too hungry." Lie again. She was starving, having not eaten since about noon that day.

Mark shrugged, a little confused as he assumed this was going to be a dinner date and then told the bartender that menu's wouldn't be necessary, that they were just going to have a few drinks and be on their way. "So, Callie, how does a pretty woman like you end up being a professional boxer?" Mark asked as he took a sip from the scotch that had just been set in front of him. He made sure to add emphasis to the 'pretty woman' part of his question in hopes of luring Callie back from whatever thoughts seemed to still be plaguing her.

It must've worked to because Callie perked right up and dove into her story of how she became a boxer. "It's actually a really stupid story if you want to know the truth. Sort of a mixture not being able to do what I wanted and then wanted to really make my parents angry."

"Well, now you have to tell me!" Mark interrupted which Callie instantly noted as a character flaw and major turn off.

However, she continued with her story. "I remember one winter my parents were watching the Olympics, I think I was about six or seven years old at the time. Anyways, my parents were watching the couples ice skating program. I just remember staring at the TV, completely infatuated with how they were able to move on the ice. I became obsessed. I begged and begged and begged everyday for my parents to let me start taking ice skating lessons. All I wanted to be when I grew up was a professional ice skater. After months and months of putting off my requests, my parents finally sat me down and told me there were not going to allow me to take skating lessons and that I needed to focus on my schoolwork instead of some far off dream. I guess it didn't help that we lived in Miami and didn't really have a reputation for ice-skating when our lowest temperature all year is like 70 degrees. But, being so young, I didn't put two and two together. I just saw it as my parents being mean and hindering my dream." Callie took a sip of her wine and went on, "So to really get back at them, I picked the most appalling sport in their eyes and excelled at it. At first, my parents were livid. They told me I had to quit and they could never support such a barbaric choice. I shrugged their demands off every time, telling them they should've just let me ice skate. But then, I got really good at boxing. Like really good. I was winning every match, every tournament, every sponsorship opportunity and my parents finally realized that their daughter was making something of herself. Even if it wasn't what they would've chosen for me, they still learned to love it and now they are two of my biggest supporters."

Mark was blown away by Callie's determination. "That is an incredible story you have there, Torres. I mean, not as good as mine…but still damn good."

 _Wow, how did I not realize how cocky this guy is_? "Thanks, and yea you're story sounds pretty unique too. 'Small town boy becomes larger than life success', that's equally as incredible." Callie offered reverence to his achievements but tried not to give him any more of an ego boost than he already had.

A faint buzzing sound broke the awkward silence that had fallen between the two of them. "Oh, this is Derek calling me." Mark stated looking down at the caller ID of his phone. "I need to take this, I'll be right back."

Callie just nodded as she brought her wine glass back up to lips and watched Mark walk out of the restaurant talking quickly into the speaker of his phone. With him out of sight, Callie used this opportunity to again check out the blonde who was deep in conversation with the other, somehow familiar looking woman. As Callie watched from a distance, she saw the woman with the blonde pick up her phone, a look of terror raced across her face as she stood up and barreled out the exit just the way Mark had a few minutes ago. Then Callie got an idea. "Sir," she said grabbing the attention of the bartender. "Do you know what that woman over there is drinking?" Callie subtly pointed in the direction of the blonde.

"Yes, she's ordered two vodka-soda's this evening." He casually said as the receipt printer next to him started into action. He reached down and picked up the ticket before stating, "…and she's just ordered another one."

"Please put that one on my tab, and let her know her drink has been taken care of." Callie stated without hesitation. If her "date" with Mark was going to go down in flames because she happen to see this woman before Mark, then at least she was going to make an effort to get lucky with her.

Callie watched as the server to took the freshly made vodka-soda over to the beautiful woman's table and set it down. She kept her eyes glued to the interaction as the waitress bent down and said something to the woman and then pointed in Callie's direction. When their eyes met, time froze.

"You're sure that's the person who sent this drink over?" Arizona questioned the waitress for the second time.

"Yes ma'am, I am sure. The bartender said that your drink order came through and she offered to pay for it on the spot." The waitress replied with a heavy tone of annoyance in her voice.

Arizona could not believe it. Callie fucking Torres just bought her a drink. Maybe this whole seducing her, make her fall in love with me thing was going to be easier than she thought. Hell, before tonight she didn't even know if Callie was into women. And then she saw Callie sitting at the bar talking and smiling with Mark Sloan. Arizona shuddered at the thought of those two getting together. Her next thought was that she she had no chance in hell at being with Callie. That was until two minutes ago, when her third drink of the night was set down in front of her and she was told that the stunning Latina at the bar had taken care of it.

As the waitress walked away, Arizona looked back to Callie, whose eyes had been locked on her since the drink arrived. Arizona took the glass and raised it up in Callie's direction. The universal symbol for cheers and mouthed a 'thank you' to her.

Callie returned the cheers gesture and then stood up and decided to make her way to the table where her vixen sat.

 _Holy shit she's coming over here._ That thought circulated in Arizona's head over and over and over until the chair that had once been occupied by Teddy now held the beauty of Callie Torres. Arizona found herself lost in the chocolate eyes that stared back at her. She wasn't sure how long she was zoned out for but she was brought back to her reality by the sweetest of voices.

"Hello…? Hello…earth to pretty blonde?" Callie crooned.

Arizona's eyes refocused to the bombshell sitting across from her. "Hi, sorry, I uh…I'm sorry." She apologized, embarrassed for getting caught daydreaming about the woman now talking to her.

"S'okay, you want to share whatever was just going on in that head of yours?"

Arizona's face blushed as red as the mid-thigh dress that Callie had wore and she cast her eyes down to her full drink. "No," she chuckled. "No, I don't think I do."

"That's a shame, I bet it was a good thought." Callie said, raising suggestive eyebrow to the blonde, who promptly choked on the sip she had tried to take.

Taking the bait, Arizona continued with their now flirty banter. She leaned in, giving Callie a nice shot of her bulging cleavage. Arizona did not miss how Callie's eyes shot straight down to enjoy her new view. "And what if this thought that I may, or may not of been having, was a good one?"

Callie slowly lifted her eyes from Arizona's chest up to meet her eyes. _God she has pretty eyes, I could get lost in those eyes. I want to get lost in those eyes._ "Well then, I'd say that it is imperative that I now learn the context of this sexy thought."

"Ahh," feigning shock, Arizona asked, "Who said it was a sexy thought?"

"You're face that's who. Your eyes were glued to my chest and watched you lick your lips when I sat down." Callie said plainly.

Arizona buried her head in her hands, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. God, that's so embarrassing."

Callie, indulging in the blonde's embarrassment a little too much decided to let it rest for now and give her a break. "It's okay, I probably had those same thoughts, just from across the restaurant instead of right now."

That made Arizona smile and really relax, or the first time since Callie had arrived at her table. "So were you on a date with him?" she asked Callie, hoping that the two trainers were meeting for work purposes. Though, she doubted it considering Callie's dress hugged her delicious figure in all the right places and her fuck-me-heels helped show off her strong, tan legs.

Not wanting to completely ruin her chances with the blonde, Callie decided to give her a vague answer. "Just a work thing, not a big to-do. What about you? Is that girl" Callie raised her hand pointed back over her shoulder in the direction of the door, "your girlfriend?"

"Who? Teddy? No!" Arizona refuted as quickly as she could. She did not want Callie thinking she had any obligations other than to her. "She's just my roommate and she's got a serious boyfriend, so no worries there. I promise."

Callie smiled as it sank in that this woman in front of her was single and definitely interested in spending time together. "So, you know I am here for work, but may I ask what brings you to this fine establishment this evening?" Callie asks, gesturing with her hands the expanse of the cozy hotel restaurant.

Arizona giggled at Callie's remark, flashing the brunette her killer dimples. "Well, Teddy had a little bit of a rough afternoon and since we had the night off, we decided to come down here and live it up a little."

Right as Callie opened her mouth to continue her flirty conversation with the blonde, she felt a hand graze the back of her neck and settle on her shoulder. Callie craned her head back and was unusually displeased to find Mark staring at her with curious eyes. "Hey, Cal, I, uh didn't know where you went and the bartender pointed me over here. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Mark everything's great." _Crap, how do I to get out of this?_ At first all she wanted to do was have a couple drinks with Mark, get some liquid courage going and then follow him up to his suite. Now the only thing she could think about was whisking this blonde up to her room and having her way with her.

Arizona watched this interaction and immediately felt like an intruder. It was very obvious that Callie and Mark's night was intended to be more than just a 'work thing'. However, Callie did approach her and the lied about her intentions with Mark, so maybe Callie was more interested in her than Mark and his penis.

Callie attempted to break the awkward stare down that was now occurring between Mark and Arizona. "I was just talking to, umm…" _Oh shit, I never introduced myself. Oh god, I don't even know her name. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Way to go Callie. Okay, be smooth, you can recover here. Just smile and be cool._ Callie turned and faced Arizona, giving her one of her signature mega-watt, weaken-the-knees smiles and continued, "I am so sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself to you when I came over. I'm Callie Torres, and this" Callie pointed to the man now standing to her left, "is Mark Sloan."

 _That's weird_ Arizona thought to herself. _Why is she introducing them to me? I met them on Sunday and I've seen them everyday since then. Maybe since it's a one-on-one/one-on-two setting they want to be more personable? Whatever. I'll go with it._

Callie didn't miss the look of confusion that swept across the blonde's face when she introduced herself and Mark. Instead of asking about that, she just sat back and waited for the blonde to introduce herself.

"I'm Arizona, it's nice to-" but she was quickly cut off.

"As in Arizona Robbins?" Callie blurted out with a hint of accusation. "As in winner of 10 qualifying championships including the Armed Forces Classic?" Callie hoped and prayed that there was more than one woman named Arizona in the world and then hoped and prayed harder that both of them were staying in the same Seattle hotel at the same time.

Pride rushed through Arizona after listening to the woman she'd been pining over list some of her accomplishments, and in front of Mark Sloan no less! "Yep, that's me. It's nice to meet both of you one-on-one. It's so difficult in the gym with everyone else there, ya know?"

But Callie wasn't listening anymore. As soon as she heard the name Arizona and watched the blonde nod and confirm that she was indeed Arizona Robbins, Callie's mind went back to last season. It went back to another blonde, a much less pretty blonde, but a blonde nonetheless. Her mind went back to Erica. Her mind went back to the competitor that ripped her heart from her chest, stomped on it, and then stormed out of her life without so much as a word. Everything Callie had wanted with this blonde not five minutes ago had just been launched out the nearest window. "I have to go." Was all she could manage to say. She quickly stood up, shrugged out of the hand Mark still had on her shoulder, and turned to towards the door to leave.

"Callie, wait!" Arizona and Mark said in unison, neither of them wanting their evenings with the Latina to end yet.

Callie turned abruptly, causing her two suitors to nearly run into her. "Mark, thank you for meeting me tonight, I'm sorry I can't stay longer." Callie then looked to Arizona, her face softening as she began her apology to the blonde. "Arizona, I- I didn't know you were a competitor. I'm sorry." That's all she could give her right now and that explanation was going to have to be enough because before either Mark or Arizona could formulate a response, Callie was gone.

* * *

 **AN2: PSA-texing and driving is a terrible, terrible habit. I know all too often we are guilty of doing it, but no text is more important than a life. Okay, no more preaching.**

 **AN3: Please, please, please comment on how you like everything so far. Yall's comments encourage me to write more and faster. I love hearing about how you like the story and the characters. Trying to update at least once a week, but more comments/praise gets me going sooner**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: Trying for weekly updates to this story. Hope everyone is enjoying it thus far, it's mostly been build up so far but our girls are getting there. For all those that were upset about Callie going after Mark at first, just keep in mind that Calzona is endgame. Sure they will have their ups and downs...after all this is a ROMANCE & DRAMA story. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: _Room number_

Watching Callie walk away was excruciatingly painful for Arizona. Not five minutes ago, Arizona thought for sure she had a chance with her beautiful trainer. They were talking, definitely flirting, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Then all the sudden she was gone. Nothing was making sense to her, why did Callie run? Everything seemed good, great even. She needed answers, and she needed them now.

"Do you know what room Callie is staying in?", she turned toward Mark who was still standing next to her. He was also staring out into the lobby, looking as hopeless and confused as Arizona.

"No, I don't.", he replied even though he knew exactly what room Callie was now retreating to. He wasn't going to let someone else get to Callie first, not when Callie invited him out for drinks. Not when he was the one who wanted to end up in her bed. Mark wasn't going to stick around and wait for the blonde to badger him about it either. He was going to stick with his lie, offer a meek apology and then go in search of the Latina he hoped to seduce. "Sorry, wish I could be more help."

Arizona watched Mark exit the restaurant and take off towards the elevators. "Liar!" she fumed with gritted teeth.

"Who's lying and why are you standing up instead of sitting at our table drinking?" Teddy returned from her phone call to see a very pissed off blonde calling some non-existent person a liar. "Arizona, what the hell happened? Why do you look so angry?

"I have to find out what room she's staying in." She hissed.

"What room who is staying in, Zona?" Teddy asked as she eased herself into her seat and picked up her drink.

"Callie." Arizona watched as Teddy's eyes went wide at the mention of Callie's name.

Teddy swallowed the big gulp of beer she had taken and set the pint glass down with enough force to cause a loud clink when it hit the table. "Seriously? Callie, Callie? The trainer, Callie? The Callie you can't believe is actually human because she looks like a goddess, that Callie?"

A shy nod, "Yea, when you left to answer your phone, she came over from the bar. We talked and were actually flirting. Not shitty flirting either, like good, I-want-to-have-sex-with-you-later type of flirting. Then Mark came over, I think she was actually supposed to be on a date with him, but oh well. So, she introduces herself and Mark, which I thought was weird since we see them everyday, but I went along with it because she was blushing and it was just too adorable to embarrass her any further. I go to introduce myself but before I can get my last name out, she interrupts me and starts listing off my boxing credentials."

Teddy nods along, already putting the pieces of the story together. "Let me guess, once she realized who you were, she bolted?"

"How did you know!?" Arizona is floored by her roommate's detective skills.

"Well, she's not here now and neither is Sloan, which means that either they left separately or together…bottom line being that she's not currently with you. And based on the angry state in which I found you, I'm going to assume that she left with Mark. Which means one of two things. Either a) she just wanted to come over and say hi before she slept with Mark. Or b) and here's what I really think it is, she did not recognize you as being a competitor and thought she was just going to be hitting on a pretty girl. You said Mark interrupted your conversation, right?"  
Arizona nods as she sips the rest of her drink into her mouth.

"Oh yea, she had no clue who you were." Teddy confirms confidently. "When Mark came over, you said she panicked?"

Another nod from Arizona who sat across from Teddy listening in shock as her friend revealed what she had failed to put together.

"That's because she forgot introduced herself when she first came over, hence the 'adorable blushing'." Teddy made sure to lift her hands and make air quotes with her fingers while saying adorable blushing since that's how Arizona had described it. "Then you said your name, and she very quickly realized that the Arizona she was flirting with is the same Arizona she is suppose to be training. She probably panicked because she realized that essentially you are her job. Her job is to train boxers and you are a boxer needing to be trained. So she bolted." Teddy let Arizona process all that she had deduced before asking, "Did Mark leave with her?"

A now devastated Arizona could only shake her head. "Not exactly. I asked him if he knew what room she was in. Before you so kindly – or unkindly I should say – put all this together, I was going go find out what happened. I wanted to see if I could rectify the situation and maybe still give us what I thought we both wanted. He told me no, but then took off. I'm guessing that he really does know where to find her, and is now doing what I wanted to do."

"Damn, Arizona. I'm really sorry. I know how badly you wanted a chance with her. But look at the bright side! We're only a couple days into this thing. You still have tons of time to win her over, it's not like we signed a contract saying that trainer-competitor relationships weren't allowed. Hell, when I was outside on the phone I saw Derek and Meredith leave the hotel hand-in-hand. He's been flirting with her since day one."

Arizona's demeanor changed instantly at she listened to her friend talk. "You're right! I've got twelve weeks to change her mind. That's plenty of time for a Robb – wait! Shit, Teddy! You're phone call? Was it Sheila? How's Henry? God I'm an idiot, I'm whining and complaining about flirting when you've got serious stuff going on. I'm sorry, Teds."

Teddy offered Arizona a warm smile, "No worries, Zona. We are both allowed to deal with our own shit and I'll be there for you because I know you'll be there for me."

"Without question, Teddy. I promise, now tell me, how's Henry doing?"

Teddy took a deep breath to steady her emotions. She was not going to cry in the middle of a restaurant. "He's doing okay. Still stable, so that's good. Sheila told me they're going to do another head CT in the morning to see if the swelling in his brain has gone down any. If it has, they're going to try and wake him up tomorrow afternoon. If the swelling hasn't changed then they'll keep him in a coma." Tears were making their way to the surface of her eyes as she tried to get through the last part of news. "If the swelling has increased, they'll have to take him back to surgery to insert a shunt. Meaning he'll stay in the ICU and in a coma for much longer than they originally thought." A few tears had made their way down Teddy's cheeks and fell onto the napkin in her lap.

Arizona opened the purse she had slung over the back of her chair and removed a tissue, handing it across the table to her friend. "Teddy, I know it's hard to imagine it right now, but Henry's going to be okay. He's strong and he loves you, he's going to come back to you, I know it."

"I know. It's just hard to deal with all of this. I mean in I'm in Seattle and he's in a coma. The doctor said that the chances of having to put in a shunt are low since he's been stable all afternoon. They just have to tell us all the facts and possible scenarios. Thanks for this by the way." Teddy waves the white tissue and then uses it to dab the corners of her eyes. "You ready to head up to the room? I'm not really feeling the vibe down here anymore."

Arizona was over the 'vibe' the second Callie walked out. "Yea, let's get the fuck out of here. I'll find the waitress and tell her to charge the drinks to the room and meet you at the elevators." Arizona scanned the small, dimly let restaurant and found the girl who had served her earlier. "Excuse me, miss?"

The waitress who had been inputting an order into the hotel's computer system spun on her heels to face Arizona. "Yes ma'am?" Seeing it was guest from a table in her section she quickly asked, "Are you and your friend ready for another round? I was just about to head to your table."

"Uh, no thank you though. I was just coming over to ask you if you could just charge our drinks to our room? It's 1502."

"Of course, not a problem ma'am. Thank you for coming in tonight, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening."

With that Arizona turned and started walking toward the elevators to meet Teddy. Then she had a thought. Instead of walking out into the lobby her feet carried her to the bar. She waited for a minute before being noticed by the bartender.

"What can I get for you?" he asked.

"Actually, I just have a question for you." Arizona waited for him to signal her with a head nod before continuing. "Earlier tonight, a lady from the bar bought me a drink. I was wondering if you could tell me how she paid for that drink?"

The bartender was all too familiar with situations like such as this. Guests buy drinks for other guests all the time, then they want to retreat to one of their rooms and continue having fun. He'd worked in this hotel long enough to know where this conversation was going, however he'd had a lot of people buy drinks for other's tonight and he needed to make sure he gave the blonde the right information. "Could you describe the person who bought you a drink and what was it that they bought you? You're not the only who got a free drink tonight ma'am and I would hate to send you to the wrong room." He made sure to give Arizona a wink to let her know that he had figured out what her intentions were.

Blushing deeply, but happy to play along with his game if it meant getting Callie's room number. "Yes of course. She was a gorgeous Latina, with a smile that could just make you melt. She has long, dark hair done in loose curls that framed her face just perfectly, and warmest brown eyes you've ever seen. She had on a tight red dress that had ¾ sleeves and ended just above the knee." Arizona was lost in daydream as she recounted just how beautiful Callie looked to the bartender. "Oh and she bought me a vodka-soda."

The bartender smirked at the late addition to Arizona's description. "You got it bad, don't you?"

"So, so bad." She admitted. "Does that ring any bells?"

"Yes, I believe you have just described Ms. Torres, am I correct?"

A huge smile broke across Arizona's face. "Yes! And please tell me she charged the drink to her room?" she nearly begged the man behind the bar.

He walked over to the computer and Arizona watched as he flicked his fingers across the screen, tapping and swiping at various things. His face was strewn into a look of deep concentration and then his eyes lit up.

 _Please let that look mean he found what I'm looking for!_ Arizona hoped silently in her head.

"Ah, yes. Ms. Torres charged her tab, including your drink, to her room. Room 3001, also known as The Emerald Penthouse. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Arizona stood with her mouth wide open in shock. _Penthouse? Holy shit, a penthouse?! Okay calm down Robbins, maybe the boxing league puts all the trainers in penthouses. Relax, I'm sure that's the case. Now answer the bartender's question and go get your girl!_ "No, thank you so much for your help though. I really appreciate you going through the trouble."

After hearing that the blonde was all set, the bartender went about filling the next guests order. Arizona took her new found information and walked to the elevators to find a very unhappy roommate tapping her foot impatiently. "What the hell took so long?"

"Sorry, I uh, I went to the bar to find out if they knew where Callie was staying. The bartender had to search through the system but he found her room number based on the drink she bought me." All Arizona could do was smile. She had the elusive piece of information she needed in order to see Callie again tonight.

Teddy was impressed by Arizona's initiative. "You know, if we weren't so committed to boxing already, I think you and I would make damn good cops. I put the story together of why she ran from you, and you solved the mystery of what room number." Both women laughed at the thought of them being cops, but then admitted that there probably was some truth to that statement. "So what room is she in?"

Arizona smiled and revealed to Teddy, "3001."

Both women then directed their attention to the wall of numbers in the elevator. There was L for lobby and the buttons for floors 1-29 but none for the 30th floor. "What the hell?" Arizona questioned.

"What do you think 'EPH' and 'SPH' stand for?" Teddy reached out and grazed her fingers across the last two buttons on the elevator's walls.

Arizona racked her brain trying to think about those letters could mean. Then it clicked. The bartender, Callie's room number. "EPH is the Emerald Penthouse. The bartender said that Callie was in room 3001, aka the Emerald Penthouse."

"Are you serious? A penthouse?" Teddy couldn't believe her ears. "I saw Bailey in the elevator Tuesday afternoon, she hit the button for the sixteenth floor, and you're telling me that Callie is not only on the thirtieth floor, but that thirtieth floor happens to be where the penthouses are?

Arizona was reeling. How was this possible? _Ok, so I was wrong. Not all of the trainers get a penthouse._ "How do you think she affords a penthouse for 3 months out of the year? Do you think she uses her winnings and sponsorship money?"

Teddy pondered Arizona's guess, "Wouldn't that mean Mark could be up here too? He's won just as many titles as Callie and would have just as much money. And that would explain how he knew what room Callie was staying in."

"Shit, yea you're right. What if he's staying in 'SPH'?" Arizona was totally dejected for the second time that night.

Suddenly Teddy perked up. "No, there's no way that's where Mark is staying!"

Puzzled, Arizona asked how Teddy could possibly know that when they had just figured out that the two of them must be using their winnings to upgrade rooms.

Happy with herself to have again solved another mystery, Teddy explained to Arizona how she could get to Callie tonight. "Remember during orientation, Webber was wrapping up his speeches for the day. Everyone had pretty much tuned him out by that point because we'd been sitting in that damn conference room nearly all day." A nod from Arizona indicated for her to keep going with her explanation. "So as he was dismissing us, he kind of had to yell over the noise of us packing up and filing out, but he said that if there was ever an emergency, he was staying on the thirtieth floor in the Sapphire Penthouse! He said that he had the hotel key all of our cards to allow us access to not only our rooms but also to his floor so we could get to him if that was ever necessary."

"Teddy, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Arizona was bubbling with excitement.

A satisfied grin appeared on Teddy's face and as she reached out to press the button marked with a 15, she simply replied, "Yes, swipe your card through that reader and hit the 'EPH' button. You'll go straight to her floor."

* * *

 **AN2: Okay, so what did y'all think? Progress then a step backward then progress. Please comment and let me know if y'all are liking it so far. Your words usually provide motivation for me to churn another chapter out quicker. If people are reading, I'll continue writing. Next chapter will be Arizona confronting Callie and we should learn a pretty good bit about our girls backgrounds. Till' next time :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: Here's the weekly update. Y'all may be getting lucky though...now that I am single (adios 5 year relationship), I will more than likely have much more time to write and update the story. So you may be getting more than one chapter a week as I learn how to cope with being single again. So, enjoy!**

Chapter 7: _Wikipedia_

Fifteen floors. That's all that separated Arizona from Callie. After Teddy had graciously stepped off the elevator on the fifteenth floor, bidding Arizona a goodnight and good luck, Arizona swiped her key card through the in-elevator scanner and nervously pushed the button for the Emerald Penthouse. The ride was slow and nerve wracking. She could feel her palms sweating and her heart racing in her chest. What was she going to say, what was she going to do? Their interaction in the restaurant seemed so natural, so why had Callie run?

Arizona glanced up to the panel just above the sliding door of the elevator, and watched as the numbers slowly ticked closer and closer to thirty. Twenty-three…twenty-four… _deep breath Z, it's just a girl._ Twenty-five… _a very pretty girl. Not a girl, a woman-a very pretty woman._ Twenty-six…twenty-seven… _okay, you can do this. Just tell her that you had a good time in the restaurant._ Twenty-eight… _tell her that you'd like to continue where you left off before Mark interrupted._ Twenty-nine… _just be yourself, you. are. awesome. And she will like you, for sure!_ The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival at the thirtieth floor. _Oh shit, here goes nothin'._

With one last steadying breath, Arizona watched the elevator door slide open. She took an uneasy step out of the carriage into a luxuriously styled hallway. The hallway on the fifteenth floor was dimly lit, narrow, and smelled faintly of old, stale cigarette smoke. The hallway on the thirtieth was like being transported to a different world. It was bright, vast, clean, and beautiful. Directly across from the doors of the elevator sat a small side table adorned with freshly cut flowers. Just above the beautiful blooms of the bouquet was a placard directing incoming guests. It had an arrow pointing to the right reading "Emerald Penthouse" along with an arrow pointing to the left indicating the "Sapphire Penthouse". Arizona stood in the middle of the hallway, first looking to the left acknowledging that the director of this wonderful opportunity was a mere twenty steps down the hall. She then turned her head in the other direction and smiled when she saw the door leading to one Callie Torres.

As she turned on her heels and steadied herself to begin the short trek down the hallway, Arizona saw the door to Callie's room open. Thinking quickly she jumped behind the small side table and prayed that it offered her enough covering. _Be invisible, be invisible, be invisible._ If she thought it hard enough and said it to herself enough times, it would surely come true, right? Arizona could hear the footsteps getting closer. She closed her eyes and continued repeating the mantra in her head. Suddenly the footsteps ceased, and she could feel eyes boring down into her soul.

"Hiya, blondie." _Not the voice I was expecting -or wanted- to hear._ Arizona opened her eyes to see the chiseled, perfectly groomed face of Mark Sloan. His face as splintered with a shit-eating grin, knowing that he had just busted a hopeless attempt to persuade Callie into bed.

Arizona stood up and smoothed out the blue shirt that had slightly wrinkled in her attempt to hide behind a plant. "Hi, Mark."

"I see you were able to locate our beautiful friend on you own, congratulations." _God, could he be any more condescending?_ Mark began fiddling with the clasp of his watch, an old nervous habit of his. "How, uh, how did get her room number though? The front desk isn't suppose to give out any of her information."

Arizona was taken aback for a moment, she was missing something when it came to Callie. First a penthouse, and now with Mark's admission, Callie's information was apparently held under lock and key. "Well, Mark, not that it's any of your business but I had the bartender look up her room number based on the tab she used to buy us drinks at the bar earlier." She made sure to include the fact that Callie had indeed purchased a drink for her, and offered Mark a sly smile when she revealed that detail.

The shock and frustration was evident on Mark's face and Arizona knew that she had won this round. She only hoped this fight for Callie, didn't make it to twelve. She'd be a much happy victor if she could knock Mark out of the picture, sooner rather than later. Breaking the silence between them, but not the glaring eye contact, Mark finally spoke up, "Congratulations, you probably got the bartender fired. And uh, good luck with that" he pointed back over his shoulder in the direction of Callie's penthouse. "She's not too keen on having visitors in her room."

Arizona just rolled her eyes at Mark's pathetic attempt to dissuade her from seeking out Callie. "I know you don't know me well, or really at all, but one think you need to know is that I don't back down, Mark. Callie sought me out in the restaurant, Callie bought me a drink, and Callie flirted with ME. So, if you want to continue playing this game to make yourself feel better, then fine. But just know, that I will get Callie to talk and listen to me. I will give everything I can to her in an effort to get her to love me." Arizona took a step closer to Mark, getting right up in his face and with her index finger pointed into his sternum she went on, "And I won't let you, or any one else put me down along the way. If Callie chooses you, fine. I will bow out graciously and accept defeat, but you better believe that if she chooses me, I won't let anyone or anything come between us. Got it?"

Totally flabbergasted by the blonde's heartfelt and adamant proclamation, all Mark could do was nod his head in shock. With Arizona still staring him down, Mark slowly backed away towards the elevators. Never breaking eye contact, he reach out and pushed the button to call the elevator. Both trainer and competitor waited in silence for the carriage to arrive and it wasn't until Mark has slinked back into the lift with his tail between his legs that Arizona was able to release the breath she had unknowingly been holding.

"Fuck." She whispered as she slowly exhaled. Arizona nerves were fried. She was terrible with confrontation and facing authority. The bridge of her nose started to hurt and nostrils flared as she could feel the tears surfacing in the corners of eyes. _No! Do not cry. Do not let him get to you. You owned that conversation. Be proud of that, be confident in that, and go talk to Callie._ Arizona continued to stand in the hallway and allowed herself a few minutes to collect her thoughts and settle her nerves. She was about to set them all on fire again by knocking on Callie's door, but hopefully those would be good nerves, not pissed off and threatening nerves. With a renewed sense of purpose, Arizona began the short journey to Callie's room.

Pursing her lips and squinting her eyes, Arizona summoned all the courage her little body could muster and raised a closed fist to the front door of Callie's penthouse suite. Three short raps on the door seemed sufficient and she waited with bated breath for Callie to answer her hopeful call. Then suddenly, Arizona began to hear the rustling around of a body.

"Seriously, Mark. I told you to go away! I told you that I wasn't interested in having…" Callie was practically yelling as she threw open the door to room, but stopped mid-sentence when she realized the person on the other side of the door was not the self-centered man she was expecting to see. "Arizona? What are you-? How did you-?"

Nervously, Arizona tried to begin answering Callie's unfinished questions. "I, umm. I talked to the bartender, he pulled your information from your drink order. I hope that's okay, I just-I just really wanted to see you again. I didn't like watching you walk away, I mean in a way I did because I got to see your hips perfectly sway, but you left. And I don't know why, so I came to find out why you left me standing there. Did I say or do something wrong? And if I did, just tell me, give me the chance to apologize for it and then we can start over. I want to tell you all about me, an-an-and I want to learn about you…" Arizona trailed off realizing that she had just started an epically ridiculous rant. She lowered her gaze to the floor, knowing that she had just blown her chance at spending time with Callie.

Callie looked at the babbling blonde in front of her and a big, beautiful smile crept its way onto the brunette's face. "Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda cute when you ramble?"

"Wait, what?"

"I said, you're kinda cute when you ramble."

Cobalt blue eyes looked up from the floor to meet a pair of milk chocolate ones. Their eyes locked in an intimate gaze. Who knew eye contact could be so sexy? "Why did you walk away?" she blurted before she realized what had come out of her mouth. _Smooth Robbins. Way to ease into it._

Now it was Callie's turn to avert her eyes. She had just gotten called out by the woman she shamelessly flirted with. "Arizona…I", but Callie had nothing to offer. She had no excuse, at least not one she was willing to share with this competitor.

"Is it because I'm a woman? Is it because you freaked out that you found me, a woman, attractive? Because I'm not dumb. I know you were flirting with me. That wasn't just friendly conversation."

Slightly offended at the homophobic accusation, Callie quickly denounced Arizona's claim. "It absolutely was not because you are a woman. I feel 100% confident in telling you that I am a proud bisexual woman, and I am equally as confident in telling you that, yes. I did – do find you to be extremely attractive. It's just-"

"It's just what Callie?" Arizona sympathetically questioned.

Callie slumped her shoulders, knowing that she was going to devastate the woman standing across the threshold, while also disappointing herself. "It's just that…I have a personal rule that I follow. And that rule is not get involved with competitors."

Arizona felt like someone had just shot an arrow through her love-stricken heart. The only reason this wasn't going to happen was because she was a competitor? How cruel and unfair could this world possibly be?

Callie began to close the door of her penthouse, offering Arizona a sorrowful smile.

"Callie, wait!" Arizona reached through the doorframe and grabbed onto Callie's forearm, ceasing Callie's efforts to shut her out. That's when she felt it. A pulse radiating through her body, stemming from the fingertips that met Callie's soft and smooth, caramel skin. Her whole body tingled with delight. It was like a light shock wave was being deliciously sent through her body. All the right places were responding to this touch and Arizona could feel her body heating up with natural desire directed to woman she was innocently touching.

Callie stood as still as a statue. What was happening? Why did she feel drawn to this woman? Hadn't she learned her lesson the first time around? Erica had actually broken her. She took and took and took until Callie had nothing left to give. Erica had left her heartbroken and devastated, without so much as a goodbye. Finding resolution in the thought of being left miserable and alone, Callie found her voice, "Arizona, I can't do this. I can't be involved with someone in the competition, it's not right. It wouldn't be fair, and I'm sorry that I made you believe otherwise earlier tonight. But right now, I think it would be best if you went back to your room and let me be."

"Callie, just give me the chance to-"

Steadfast in her reasoning, Callie refused to give into the blonde's pleas, "No, Arizona. I can't get hurt again." Callie's eyes went wide as she realized that she had inadvertently revealed too much to the gorgeous blonde standing in front of her. _Damn it, those eyes are going to get me in trouble. God, her eyes are beautiful. I could get lost in them. I want to get lost in them. Wait, what am I saying? Close the door before you say do something that you can't recover from, close the door before you go too far._ "Goodnight, Arizona."

She stood in the hallway, alone and more confused than when she arrived at Callie's door. _She can't get hurt again? What the hell does that mean? Did I hurt her already? No, there's no way…I've been here for like four days._ _Who hurt her? I swear if it was Mark, I'm going to rip his balls off._ There were too many thoughts circulating in her head as she made the slow and almost painfully solo journey back to the elevators. She had knocked a couple more times on Callie's door, but when it became clear that she was not going to get another opportunity to talk to the Latina, she gave in and was forced to call it a night.

* * *

She rode the elevator back down to the fifteenth floor and swiped her card through the reader at door number 1502. Arizona entered a completely dark room, greeted only by the soft snores of her roommate. After changing out of her going-out outfit and into a pair of light blue boy shorts and one of her brother's grey US Marines t-shirts, Arizona grabbed her iPad and decided it was time to learn a little more about Callie Torres.

Clicking the toggle switch at the top of the device, the screen dimly lit up. Arizona punched in her passcode, 0313-her father's birthday, and then opened the Safari application. Going directly to her Google bookmark, Arizona then used her two index fingers to tap out the name 'Callie Torres' and hit the search button. A whopping 1.866666667 seconds later (according to Google's search time), she had over ninety thousand articles and facts and pictures of the woman she so desperately wanted to know.

The first link she clicked on was an article about Callie's decision to retire and how that would impact her legacy. _Blah, blah, blah…just tell me about her in general._ Perusing through search results Arizona kept coming across the name 'Calliope Torres'. _Is that her? I guess it could be…_ she then clicked on the Wikipedia link for that name and hoped it would give her something to go off of.

Her iPad screen turned an even brighter shade of white as the Wikipedia page opened up. Across the middle of the screen read the name 'Calliope Torres', under that in bold lettering, Arizona read, " **Calliope "Callie" I. Torres** (born August 31st, 1987) is a Hispanic-American female championship boxer…" She then directed her attention to the picture situated on the right side of the webpage featuring Calliope holding a championship belt above her head in one hand with her other hand raised in a triumphant fist. Below the brief description of who Callie was was a set of quick links that read: Early life, Career, Personal life, Awards, etc.… Arizona immediately clicked on personal life and began reading about the woman she couldn't get out of her head.

"Not much is known about the personal life of Calliope Torres. During her days of professional boxing, it was widely known that she would not date anyone for fear of jeopardizing her career and focus. In 2012, it was rumored that she had a brief fling with Conor McGregor, a UFC fighter. Though both parties and their PR teams deny the rumor. After defending her title in 2013, Callie retired from the professional circuit to become a trainer with the Ultimate Fighter. She now resides in Seattle, Washington. In 2014, it was once again rumored that Calliope was dating. This time thought it was a female competitor Callie was supposed to be training. She and her family have denied such accusations, but outside sources say that the relationship did in fact occur and that it ended abruptly after said competitor was forced to leave the competition."

Everything made sense. Arizona finally had one of the missing pieces to her Calliope puzzle. Callie ran away when she realized that Arizona was competitor, and then told her that she couldn't get hurt again. Callie may be publically denying the fact that she had a relationship with a competitor, but Arizona had just figured it all out. She did have that relationship, and she did get hurt. Bad enough that she has since swore off anyone that could possible hurt her again. _But, I won't hurt her._ Now that she knew the truth, Arizona could chip away at the wall Callie had put up around herself and her heart. Now that she knew what was holding Callie back, she could work to free her. And she would try her damndest to just that.

* * *

 **AN2: Comments are lovely, don't forget that we authors love them! Hope y'all are enjoying the story so far!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: Two chapter in two days? Yea, y'all are definitely benefitting from my break-up. Only thing keeping me from spiraling down is dedicating all of my mind power to this story. Enjoy!**

Chapter 8: _Woo_

* * *

After a verbal tongue lashing from their newest trainer the day before, all sixteen fighters came through the gym door at 7:30 Friday morning with an attitude adjustment and a renewed sense of purpose. Friday's were large group training, so all the guys were with the two male trainers and all the girls with the two female trainers. Callie and Miranda had met earlier that morning and decided that they were going to focus their group on cardio and breathing during the morning workout.

Boxing is as much a battle against yourself as it is a battle against your opponent. Not only are you warding off advances from fighter opposite you, but you're also waging an internal war. Your muscles, joints, and mostly the voice in your head all telling you to quit. That one more landed punch will surely be the end, that one more step will likely be your downfall. As a fighter, you have to learn how to settle that voice, push through the burn of your muscles and know that if you can make it to the bell, you've made it to the next round.

With all eight woman lined up on a set of treadmills, Miranda Bailey began explaining the workout she and Callie had agreed upon. "You will run, and when you think you can't run any long, you'll continue to run." Grunts from Cristina and Meredith were quickly addressed by the their staunchly strict coach. "You two got something to say?"

"No." They both said in unison feeling about two inches tall after being called out.

"That's what I thought. Now who can tell me why we're going to run this morning?" Bailey asked her weary pupils

When no one offered an immediate answer, Arizona glanced from the shorter coach standing in front of the treadmills, to Callie who had slinked back and was allowing Bailey to dictate the morning drills. Making eye contact with Callie and never breaking it, Arizona finally answered Bailey's question. "We're running to elevate our heart rate and then we will keep running to work on our breathing. So we can learn how to push our bodies beyond their breaking point."

As Bailey commended Arizona for correctly identifying the reason behind their looming workout, Callie offered her a congratulatory smile, but then diverted her attention for the rest of the morning. Callie avoided Arizona's gaze and neglected to offer her advice or motivation throughout their three hour workout. Letting Bailey take the lead when it came to addressing the blonde she was struggling to keep out of her thoughts.

As the men worked on strength and flexibility by lifting weights and stretching, the women ran. When Miranda or Callie noticed one them starting to struggle, they would allow them lower the speed of the treadmill, but only briefly as they sternly encouraged each woman to push through the pain. "C'mon, stick with it! One more round, make it to the final bell, you can do this. Take another 30 seconds and then pick your pace back up."

Arizona was dying. Two hours and fifteen minutes into her run, she was nearly positive that she couldn't take one more step. Her calf was starting to cramp, her foot was stinging, and she felt like she was going to vomit. To make matters worse, she had watched Callie offer words of encouragement to everyone except for her. _What is her deal? Her plan is to avoid me for the next three months. Great, just great._

Maybe it was the masochist in her or maybe she was subconsciously trying to impress Callie, but Arizona had yet to lower her running pace since she began this run nearly two and a half hours ago. When Miranda appeared at her side, a red-faced Arizona turned to address her. "Ma'am?" she gasped.

"Have you been running this pace the whole time?"

Completely out of breathe and pouring sweat off her small frame, Arizona couldn't get words out of her mouth. She worried that if she opened her mouth, not just words would come out. Not even her worst hangover had ever made her feel this nauseous. So instead she nodded her head and kept her eyes locked onto the timer of the treadmill. It now read that she had been running for 2h 23m and 45...46...47 seconds.

Completely shocked and impressed that this fighter had not only accepted the challenge with open arms but had excelled beyond compare, Bailey reached over and began pushing a down arrow to slow down Arizona's machine. Bailey raised her voice so that all the women could now hear her loud and clear and said, "Robbins, hit the showers." When all eight women turned and quizzically looked at their trainer, not completely sure they had just heard her correctly, Bailey went on to add, "Ladies, I know this is still the first week, and I know things have been a little bumpy to start with, being here is about pushing yourself. It's about grabbing this opportunity by the horns and not allowing your mind to get in your way. While most of you were throwing yourself a pity party thinking about how hard it is to run for a couple of measly hours. Arizona never waivered and for that she gets thirty minutes off. So, I'll say again: Robbins-hit the showers. The rest of you, bump your pace up to a 7 minute mile and finish this last half hour strong."

Proudly and confidently stepping off her treadmill, Arizona retreated to the locker room. Once out of view from the rest of competitors, she collapsed to the floor and allowed the tears she'd been holding back for the last hour start to flow. With the adrenaline in her body having slowed it coursing pace through her body, the stinging and searing in her right foot now became even more prominent. Arizona reached down and began untying the laces of her size 8 Asics tennis shoes. Gently slipping her foot out of the sole of the shoe, she immediately noticed the bloodied toe section of her sock. _Shit!_

Halfway through removing her sock, Arizona heard footsteps enter the lock room. Quickly wiping the salty streaks leaking from eyes on the sleep of her sweat saturated t shirt, Arizona looked up to see Callie standing over her. _Double shit. She can't see me like this._

Concern for the blonde immediately prevailed as a flurry of emotions swept through Callie's mind. "Are you okay? Do you want me to grab the first aid kid?" Arizona wouldn't meet her gaze, but did nod her head at Callie's question. "Alright, I'll be right back. Go ahead and finish taking your sock off. If you can manage, get yourself over to sink and sit on the counter. That way we can rinse off your foot before bandaging it."

A few minutes later, Callie returned holding a small, white box with a red cross emblazoned across the front. Arizona had managed to hobble over and prop herself up on the counter as Callie had instructed. She had warm water running over her foot as she watched the clear liquid come out of the faucet and turn a light shade of pink as it ran down the drain. "A blister formed, burst, and bled through my sock. No big deal." She tried to brush off Callie's inspection of her foot, but the brunette was adamant in her attempt to help her mentee.

"If it's bled this much then you've clearly worn through multiple layers of new skin. I'm going to have to wrap some gauze around that toe to protect the wound and then I'll tape around it to hold it in place. Okay?" Callie questioned as she opened the kit and began searching for the necessary supplies.

Arizona again nodded in agreement at her mentors suggested care plan. "Thanks, Callie. You, umm, you don't have to be doing this. So, really, thank you." Arizona finally met Callie's eyes and offered her a mesmerizing dimpled grin making her azure blue eyes glisten and Callie's knees buckle.

Desperately trying to hide her blushing cheeks and recover her wits, Callie made herself busy attending to Arizona's injured foot. "You're very welcome, Arizona. Though, it is my job."

"False. You're job is to train me, not fix my boo-boos." Another dimpled grin in Callie's direction caused her heart to skip a beat.

 _God, what is this woman doing to me?_ "You're right, but I also need to make sure my trainees are capable of competing and in order for you to continue today, I need to be here doing this for you. And speaking of competing today, what you did out there…that was intense. You showed Bailey and I that you're taking this opportunity seriously and you showed the other girls that they need to take you seriously."

"Thank you, Callie that means a lot to hear you say that." Arizona remembered what she had read about Callie the night before, specifically her full name, but she wasn't quite ready to play that card. She needed to wait for the right moment. A moment where Callie wasn't holding an injured body part in her strong hands, a moment that felt more… _right;_ but sitting on a crappy bathroom sink in a smelly gym was not _right_ moment.

Arizona watched as Callie nimbly wrapped her toe and secured the gauze with tape. "There. That should hold up even after your shower. When you get back here at 2:15, meet me in the training room and I'll double wrap your toe to prevent it from re-rupturing. Bailey and I already decided that this afternoon's workouts will be light. The eight of you will be exhausted anyway."

"Okay, that sounds good. Thank you again for your help." Arizona hoped down off the table and began getting ready to shower. Callie might be trying to resist her, but that didn't mean Arizona couldn't show her what she was missing out on. Reaching down and grabbing the hem of her shirt, Arizona pulled it up and over her head. Revealing her wonderfully toned body, accentuated even more by the eighteen-mile run she had just embarked on. Her body still glistened with a sheen of sweat as let her t-shirt slip out of her hands and fall to the floor. Standing in front of the shower, Arizona then reached behind the plastic curtain and turned the faucet all the way over to the hot side. She then slid out of her Nike running shorts, leaving her standing in front of a now steamy shower in only her tight spandex compression shorts and sports bra.

Callie's jaw was on the floor, tongue hanging out of her mouth as she stood gawking at the chiseled figure in front of her. Her body was deceiving her mind and began reacting to what she saw. Butterflies had now taken refuge in her stomach and her pulse quickened through her veins. The same delightful tingles she had felt at Arizona's touch the night before, now returned to her most intimate spots.

"See something you like?" Arizona asked, seductively raising an eyebrow.

Clearing her throat and shaking the wildly inappropriate thoughts from her mind, Callie remembered that she needed to remove herself from this situation before she did something she was going to regret. "I should get back to the group. They'll be finishing up their runs soon and I need to be there to support them. I will-I'll see you in the training room later."

Watching Callie turn on her heels and leave the locker room, Arizona chuckled to herself. _Robbins-1 Torres-0._

* * *

The rest of the Friday went off without a hitch. Upon their return to the gym that afternoon, Callie worked quickly and quietly to apply another layer of gauze to Arizona's toe. She then led her and the other women in a relaxing yoga routine, just what they needed after a draining morning workout. Back at the hotel later that night, the group came together for film study, dinner, and game night in the conference room. After a brief meeting with Miranda Bailey to once again be commended on her 110% effort in the gym, Arizona was dismissed for night. She had hoped that her daily review was going to be with Callie, but for the fifth night in a row, she got stuck with Bailey.

Swiping her key card through the reader, Arizona entered her hotel room to find Teddy snuggled up on her own bed watching Bridesmaids on HBO. She stopped in her tracks to watch Kristin Wigg act out one of her all time favorite movie scenes.

 _"Help me, I'm poor!"_ Wigg's character begged the flight attendant to let her stay in first class.

"God I love this movie! I watched it almost everyday when it came out on DVD." For the next hour, both girls sat in quietly watching the movie. The only sounds coming from them were fits of laughter at the hilarity and ridiculousness of the comical movie. As Wilson Phillips took the stage to sing as the credits began rolling, Arizona heard her iPad chiming with the tell-tale sound of her brother's custom FaceTime ringtone.

Teddy lowered the volume of the TV and motioned for Arizona to answer the call. "Go ahead, it won't bother me if you want to talk to your family."

Smiling at her roommates generous understanding, Arizona scooted back to lean up against the headboard of her bed and used her index finger to swipe across the screen and answer the call. "Hi Timmy!" she squealed when she saw the dimpled smile of her brother materialize on the screen in front of her.

"Ahh, Zona! It's so good to see you! We miss you here, the house is oddly quiet with you gone." Tim had never been home without his sister. He might have left and gone to war, but his sister always remained at home with their mother.

"I'm sure you're managing, Tim" Arizona rolled her eyes at her brother's flair for the dramatic. "Besides you better get used it, I've only been here a few days." She added.

The two siblings settled into an easy conversation, briefly talking about how things were going back in Virginia and how the first couple days of training had been less than helpful due to the contestants inability to get along. It wasn't until Tim asked the all important question of potential love interest did Arizona's eyes flicker with true excitement.

"So there is someone out there that's caught your eye, I knew it! Mom owes me five bucks!"

"You're an ass. I can't believe you and mom bet on me having a crush!"

Tim smirked through the screen, "But you're not denying, sis. So what's her name?"

Letting out a long sigh and looking to her roommate for help, but receiving only a shoulder shrug signaling 'Good luck with that one', Arizona realized that hiding this from her family was simply no longer an option. Tim could read her like a book. "Her name is Callie, she's one of my trainers here, and Tim...she is absolutely perfect." The look Arizona now had in her eyes signaled to her brother that she meant every word. He'd never seen or heard her talk about a woman with such reverence and admiration, not even her ex – who Arizona thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

"So then what's going on with you two? Have you taken her on a date yet?" Tim wanted to play twenty questions with his sister, interested in finding out as much as he could about the woman that had captured his sister's attention. But at his question, he watched the smile fade from her face and screw up into a frustrated frown. "What? What is it? Oh Lord, she's straight isn't she? You've totally fallen for straight girl at the party, haven't you?"

"No Tim, she's not straight. She's bi, which I'm totally fine with, that's not the issue."

"Then what is?" Her brother interrupted, not pleased with how long it was taking his sister to get to the point.

"She said she's bi, but she won't give me the time of day. And before you say 'Well, then maybe she's not interested in you like that.' Let me just tell you…she is. She eye-fucked the shit out of me in the locker room today…" before she could continue recounting the story to her brother a bark of laughter erupted from the bed across from her.

"What was that?" Tim asked

Turning the iPad in the direction of her roommate, Arizona announced, "That was Teddy, my roommate. Teddy, this is my brother, Timothy Robbins."

Teddy looked over at the screen and her eyes went wide at the handsome man's image that filled the screen. "God, could y'all look any more alike? Hi Tim, nice to meet you!"

"You too, hope my sister's not driving you crazy already. I know how she can be."

"Oh shut up Tim!" Arizona turned the screen back to face herself. "What should I do Tim? I know she's interested, but it's like she won't let herself venture far enough into those feelings to give me a chance. I looked her up on Google last night and I found out that she had a relationship with a competitor here last year. From what I gather, it didn't go so well in the end and I guess that's why she's holding back on me." Arizona's voice was now that of a dejected whine, "Timmy, help me?"

Tim smiled at his younger sister's pitiful request for help. "Zona, you know what the best part about having a handsome older brother is?" Watching Arizona shake her head he continued, "You get to wreak the benefits of all my experience with the ladies."

"Okay so what does the all-knowing, self-proclaimed, 'love guru' suggest I do?" she sarcastically asked, but genuinely wanted to know what her brother's advice was going to be.

"It's actually quite simple sis. You've got to woo her."

"Woo?" Arizona incredulously asked. "You can't be serious?"

"Oh I'm as serious as a heartache, lil sis. You've got to woo the socks off this girl! Think about it…she got burned by a contestant so she's naturally hesistant to start something with another one. So how can you be different?"

"I don't know?" _Is he on drugs? This is making no sense…_

"Arizona, it's quite simple. You're overthinking this per usual. Get out of that analytical head of yours and look at the black and white of the situation. The bottom line is that Callie doesn't want to get hurt again. She opened herself up to someone and they took advantage of that. So, you need to show her that you aren't that person. That you aren't going to intentionally hurt her if she opens herself up to you. And what better way to show her that, than to…"

Arizona finally clued into what her brother was trying to tell her. "Than to woo the socks off her! To show her that I want to treat her the right way an-an-and that I am willing to put everything out there to earn her trust."

"Precisely. So crank out the romantic gestures and be sincere. If you're serious about this woman, then don't half-ass this. You gotta go full on Robbins charm." Though the context of their conversation may have seemed goofy and routine, both Robbins children knew that it was authentic and honest. Maybe that's why they had such a great sibling relationship. Because to those standing on the outside looking in, the two appeared to never take life seriously, always goofing off and poking fun at each other. But to Tim and Arizona, it was they way they got through their tumultuous childhoods together. Regularly moving around the world meant they could never put roots down in any one place. The only constant in their lives was each other, so they latched on to each other and formed one of the tightest and most unbreakable sibling bonds on record.

"I can do that," Arizona assuredly replied. "Thanks Timmy, you're the bestest big brudder I could've ever asked for." The honest appreciation and admiration evident in her voice.

"You're more than welcome, Zona. You know you always have me when you need advice on girls." Dimpled grin met dimpled grin. "So call me if you need any suggestions with the wooing, and don't worry I won't tell mom…yet."

"Thank you, I'm seriously not ready for her to know about this ginormous crush I've got going on. I'll call you if I need you. Goodnight T, love you!"

"'Night Z, love you too!"

As the screen that had just held her brother's face returned to the home screen, Arizona let out a relieved sigh. She had a plan. Thanks to her brother's timely phone call and unplanned heart-to-heart, she now had a clear idea of how she was going to begin to chip away at that wall Callie had put up around her beautiful heart.

"You and your brother are fucking adorable. I've never in my life wanted a sibling until right this very minute." Teddy couldn't hide the envy in her voice if she tried.

"Yea, he's my rock. Throughout all the moves, all the ups, and all the downs, I always had Tim." It was true. Tim meant the world to Arizona. She looked up to him as a role model and hung on every word he spoke. "We've been through a lot together, though. Tim spent 36 months over seas with the Marines. He served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and he would've gone back for more, but a week before he was suppose to come home, Tim and his unit were ambushed while clearing a small village."

Teddy's audible gasp interrupted Arizona's thoughts, but she recovered without too much hesitation. "Yea, they were caught in a fire fight with Rebel forces. Tim doesn't remember much but what he can recall is seeing what looked like a rock land about 40 feet from where he was standing. He tried to run, but couldn't get out of the blast fast enough. The next thing he knew he woke up in Walter Reed two weeks later. He lost his left leg and has some pretty gnarly burn scars across the left side of his belly, but he has his life and I will forever be grateful that he made it out of that hell hole alive."

Teddy sat in awe as she listened to roommate tell her brother's story. "Next time you talk to him, please tell him I said thank you for his service. My dad was never on the front lines, he mainly sat behind a desk signing paperwork so I can't imagine what it must've felt like knowing your family was in harms way."

Arizona shuddered at the thought of being back in that moment. "It was terrible. Nothing can accurately describe the feeling." Desperately needing a change in topic before this conversation turned morbid, Arizona stood up and sauntered into the bathroom to brush her teeth and put her pajamas on. "You ready for the challenge tomorrow?" she asked Teddy as she squeezed toothpaste onto the bristles of her toothbrush.

"Uh, yea. Yea, I think so. I am a little nervous, I've got a whole 'fear of the unknown' thing going for me." Teddy hastily replied as she turned off the TV and nestled down into the fluffy pillows on her bed.

Arizona spit the white foam of her toothpaste into the sink and then rinsed her mouth out with water so she could answer Teddy. "Yea, me too. I don't know what to expect from the trainers. I just know I really, really want to win." Arizona then slipped into her own bed and just before her head hit the pillow, she turned off her lamp on her bedside table. She closed her eyes and quickly began dozing off with ideas now rolling around her head of how she could begin sweeping Calliope Torres off her feet.

* * *

 **AN2: How was that chapter?**

 **AN3: Also, if there is anyone out there reading this that served or is currently serving, or has family that served our country...THANK YOU! Because of you (or a member of your family) I am able to sit comfortably on my couch and write this story. I will forever be grateful for those who are willing to lay down their life to keep us safe!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: Ahh, it's Grey's season 12 finale day! Kind of freaking out about it, and so very not ready for the break. At least we will have our stories to keep us entertained until the fall premiere. Hopefully there's some happy Callie/Arizona time tonight...but who knows.**

 **A/N2: This chapter was a little hard for me to write, first time writing a real interaction for our girls so please keep that in mind as you're reading. Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: _Medium-Rare_

* * *

Arizona sat crisscross on her bed with a notebook open on her lap. The pencil she had been using now securely wedged behind her ear, "Okay, how does this sound?" As Arizona read the note she had written her trainer, Teddy intently listened to her roommate. "You did not seriously write that, did you?" Teddy asked as she brushed through her freshly showered hair.

Arizona hopelessly stared down at the page in front of her, "I knew it was stupid."

"No! No, that's not what I meant." Teddy quickly backtracked, cursing herself for her poor choice of words. She set her brush down on the vanity counter and walked the few short steps into the living area of their hotel room. "I meant, that I was incredibly impressed that you were able to come up with that elegant proposal in the ten minutes it took me shower. I always sucked at writing and translating my thoughts to paper, but that…" she said, pointing to the words neatly scribbled onto the lined paper. "That is beautiful Arizona. And Callie would be crazy to say no."

Blushing bright red Arizona nodded her head, "Thanks, Teddy."

Returning to the vanity mirror, Teddy began applying moisturizer to her face. "So how are you going to ask her? Obviously the note, but like how are you sending it?"

"The note will be attached to a flowers that I am going to have delivered to her room in about…" Arizona glanced at the clock on her bedside table, the red digits staring back at her read 3:48 "…forty-two minutes. That gives her roughly an hour and a half to get ready before I pick her up. Webber said the reservations are at 6:30 under my name. I just hope they aren't expecting me to sit at a table with Burke and whoever he decides to invite. I still can't believe that jerk-off won today."

"I know, right? He is such an ass! But, when we were getting on the bus to come back to the hotel, I overheard him asking Yang to dinner. He said their reservation weren't until 7 o'clock so…you should be good."

Picking up the phone and dialing zero for the front desk, Arizona began placing the flower order with the concierge. Carefully reciting the poem she had come up with and then listened as the voice on the other end of the line repeated it back to her. "Yep that's correct. And you'll have them delivered to her door, room 3001 at precisely 4:30, right? …Okay, thank you." Hanging up the phone, Arizona nearly leapt off the bed and darted past Teddy into the shower room of their two-part bathroom. "I've got to get ready! I've got a hot date tonight!"

* * *

Callie sat at the desk in the second bedroom of her penthouse suite. Her fingers stroking the keys of her laptop quickly, making no mistakes as she typed out an email to her sister. _Being back in Seattle is great. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got back and realized that, while Miami is where we grew up…Seattle is my home now. Enough about me though! How is the new job? Do you just love being a junior partner? Soon they'll be adding your last name to their letterhead!_ Her train of thought was then rudely interrupted by a loud knock on her front door. _Mark._

Debating whether she should answer it or not, Callie almost pretended to be napping just to avoid dealing with the man she once tried to seduce. But Carlos Torres raised her better than that. She was taught never to run from conflict and so she quickly chose to take the higher ground. She would just tell Mark that while she was-at one point- interested in pursing him those feelings were no longer valid and she would like to just keep their relationship strictly platonic. However, when she opened the door, there was no one standing there. Instead she found an exquisite bouquet of the most luscious red roses she had ever laid her eyes on. Bending down to pick up the flowers, she also saw an envelope tucked underneath the corner of the glass vase. Callie took one more look down the hallway, hoping that whoever had dropped of her gift would make an eventual appearance. Sadly though, she saw no one.

Retreating back in to the comfort of her large hotel room, Callie set the vase down on the long mahogany table that consumed a large majority of her dining room. She then directed her attention to the gold envelope that had come with her blooms. She slipped her index finger under the flap and carefully tore it open. Then she removed the piece of cardstock and began reading aloud

"You've told me no,

You've told me to go,

But then you fixed my right foot's big toe.

Please don't laugh, as this is no joke,

Instead, do me the honor of joining me at Oak.

My win today,

Could make everything okay,

So, Calliope, what do you say?

If you agree

To my romantic plea,

Answer my knock,

On the sixth chime of the evening clock."

Callie's face erupted into an ear-to-ear smile. No one had ever made this kind of effort to get her attention before. _She's good_ Callie thought to herself before stealing a glance at the oven's digital clock. _Shit 4:40. If I'm going to do this then I need to shower and start getting ready. Should I do this? It's just dinner…but she sent flowers, that means it's a date._ Callie's stomach fluttered at the thought of having a date with Arizona. _What the Hell, it's just one date. I can enjoy a nice dinner and then let her down easy. Tell her what I was going to tell Mark, that we should just be friends._

With a solid plan to enjoy a friendly 'dinner date' with the blonde and then explain to her that they had to keep their relationship professional, Callie made her way to her lavish bathroom.

Sixty minutes later, Callie was showered, dressed, had her hair straightened and her make-up perfectly done. Deciding to keep her outfit chic but comfortable, Callie opted for tight black jeans, a pink rose-colored silk top with short sleeves, and black wedge booties. Before going out she would throw her signature black leather jacket on, knowing that as the Seattle sun went down she would want something to keep her warm. One more once-over in her walk-in closet's full-length mirror, Callie decided she looked damn good and gave herself a sultry wink.

With about fifteen minutes until her suitor was to knock on her door, Callie decided to pour herself a glass of wine in an effort to calm her surging nerves.

* * *

Arizona had fifteen minutes until she needed to be upstairs. Being the daughter and sister of a Marine, that really meant she had about twelve minutes before she needed to be standing in front of Callie's door. "How do I look?" she asked her roommate.

Looking up from her computer screen, Teddy smiled as she looked upon her dolled up friend. "You look amazing! Callie won't know what hit her." She genuinely replied before returning to her research on patients in an induced coma. Teddy had received a call from Sheila while Arizona was in the shower. Henry's vitals were still stable, but the doctor's hadn't seen the progress they were hoping for yet when it came to the swelling of his brain. It was for that reason, they decided to keep him in his medically induced coma state.

Before leaving the room, Arizona examined herself one more time. She wanted to really blow Calliope away, so picking out the perfect outfit was crucial. In the end she decided on a pair of dark wash jeans that looked like they had been painted on, a white V-neck shirt that showed a peek of her delectable cleavage, and an olive green cropped-sleeved blazer. She donned a pair of pointed, green heels that matched the color of her jacket and wore her hair in loose curls. _Fire, Robbins. You and this outfit are straight fire._ With one more 'good luck' wish from her roommate, Arizona exited their plain ole hotel room, another small trinket in hand, and headed to elevators to travel fifteen floors up to much more exotic room…and woman.

* * *

When Callie heard the familiar sound of someone lightly knocking at her front door, she swallowed her last sip of wine and took a deep breath. _No need to be nervous, you're just going to be her friend._ She strolled through the living area of her suite and reached for the door handle to greet her dinner date. Opening the door, she was met with one of the most intoxicatingly beautiful sights she'd ever seen and in that very instant, Calliope Torres knew she was a goner.

"Hi," Arizona greeted her. "This is for you." She extended her arm and offered Callie a single red rose.

"Thank you, Arizona." Callie reached out and accepted the flower. "You didn't have to do this, though. You already sent me a stunning arrangement earlier today"

Blushing, Arizona knew she was taking a risk bringing another flower, but decided to move forward with what she rehearsed. "I know I did, but that was only twelve flowers, and now you have thirteen. And thirteen is an important number to me because it's my lucky number. Shit. Sorry, th-that sounded better in my head than when I said it out loud." Shifting her weight in the hallway and nervously fidgeting with one of the buttons on her blazer, Arizona desperately tried to recover. "Okay, no, listen. I didn't mean it like 'Oh, I'm gonna get lucky'. I meant it in the sense that I am so, so _lucky_ to have won a spot here and then I hit the jackpot when I saw you walk into that conference room during orientation. Calliope, you are miraculous. And, I that know very little about you but I am hoping we can change that tonight. What I am trying to say, I guess is that I could not be more sure of the fact that I am where I am suppose to be…and that is right here, with you."

"You're rambling again." Callie retorted with a sly grin. "I think you know how I feel about that." Her resolve of keeping this relationship in the friend zone was softening after hearing Arizona's cute and utterly heartfelt speech.

Arizona then moved her right arm so that her fist was resting against her hip, inviting Callie to link her free arm into Arizona's. "Ready for the best first date you've ever had?"

"Absolutely!" Callie answered, grabbing Arizona's offered elbow and pulling her door closed behind her as the two women casually walked down the hallway of the thirtieth floor.

A quick cab ride filled with friendly and somewhat flirty conversation later, Arizona exited the car and then offered her hand to Callie in order to help her ease out of the small backseat. As they neared the front door of the steak restaurant, Arizona quickened her pace ahead of Callie so that she could open the door for the brunette.

"Thank you," Callie smiled her best smile to the blonde who had been nothing less than chivalrous since she showed up at her front door.

They made their way into the restaurant and just as the large hand of the dining room clock reached the 6, Arizona strolled up to the Maître'd "Robbins, party of two for six-thirty" she crooned.

Scanning his reservation log, Arizona and Callie watched as he ran his finger over the various last names listed under Saturday's date. "Ahhh, Ms. Robbins, here you are. We have your table ready, if you and your guest would please follow me."

When they arrived at their table, Arizona offered a silent thank you to whoever orchestrated this ordeal. Their table was tucked away in the quietest corner of the restaurant, away from prying eyes and eavesdropping ears. Arizona grabbed the back of one the two chairs and slid it backwards, then gesturing for Callie to take a seat. After gently tucking her in close to the table, Arizona walked around and sat across from Callie, facing the gorgeous Latina and immediately locking gaze with her captivating chestnut irises. "Thank you for coming with me this evening, Calliope."

"How do you know my full name?" Callie demanded.

Realizing that she may have crossed a line, Arizona reluctantly answered, "Umm…I Googled you."

Before she could reply, their waiter made his first appearance at their table. "Good evening, ladies. Welcome to Oak Steakhouse, is this your first time dining with us?" he asked

"Yes." Both Callie and Arizona answered in unison. Though Callie had been with the program for a couple of years now this was the first time she had ever been asked to the winner's dinner. Erica had never won a challenge therefore was never able to invite her out. And when they did go out, Callie always treated Erica to her favorite meal: sushi.

Diving right into his first-time-guests speech, the waiter first explained their expansive wine menu and then rattled off the specials the chef was offering that night. "Any questions?" When neither woman answered he then asked, "Are we ready to order, or do would you like a few more minutes to make your decisions?"

Callie looked to Arizona who was studying the menu like it held the key to happiness. "Arizona, do you need another minute?"  
"No, no. I know you're ready so you order first and by the time you're done then I'll be ready." Callie was apprehensive but when she saw Arizona give her a reassuring nod, Callie proceeded with her order.

"I'd like to start with the Pan Seared Sea Scallops for my appetizer. For my entrée, I'll have the twelve-ounce Angus Beef Filet Mignon. Cooked Medium-rare, please." Looking to Arizona and directing her next question to the blonde, she asked "Would it be okay if I ordered us a bottle of wine and some sides for the table?"

Arizona could tell nearly right away that this fine dining restaurant was Callie's element. From the moment they walked in the door, the brunette oozed confidence and assurance, while she herself shrunk back in fear of the nice-ness of it all. The fanciest place she had ever been was the annual Marine Ball. But Callie? Arizona could tell that this is the kind of place she felt comfortable in. "Yea, please. I trust your judgment." She replied with a wink.

"We will also have a bottle of the Kistler, Pinot Noir and we'd like to share the Lobster Mac and Cheese and the Creamed Spinach"

Callie watched as the waiter mentally took note of her order and then turned to Arizona to ask her what she would like to have.

"I'll start with a dozen oysters on the half shell, and then I will also have the twelve-ounce filet topped with a crab cake, please."

"Yes ma'am, of course. And how would you like your steak prepared this evening?" the waiter diligently asked, making sure to get every aspect of their order exactly right.

"Oh, um. Medium-rare please." Turning her attention from the young waiter standing tableside to the sexy Latina sitting across from her, "That's warm, pink, and juicy in the center, right?" she asked as she raised a seductive eyebrow, forcing Callie to swallow the sudden desire she felt.

Totally oblivious to the sexual innuendo that was just exchanged between the two women, the waiter simply replied "Yes ma'am, is that okay?"

Deep-sea blue eyes remained locked with chocolate ones, as Arizona nodded and flatly stated, "That's perfect."

The wine flowed, the delectable food was indulged upon, and the two women spent the entire evening deep in conversation. "So Google gave you my full name, what else did it tell you?" Callie questioned even though she was well aware of what was out there about her.

Arizona wasn't sure how to answer this. She wanted to ask Callie about the rumors, she wanted to know the truth, but was that proper first date conversation material? "Oh you, know…born and raised in Miami. May or may not have dated some people…"

"Arizona, just ask me. I don't know if this is going anywhere but I do know that I don't want there to be any secrets between the two of us."

Pondering if she should even ask a question or just let it be, Arizona took a sip of her wine and then pushed her plate away, unable to take another bite of the melt-in-your-mouth steak she had ordered. "How are you living a penthouse?" she finally asked.

Not even remotely close to the question she had expected the blonde to ask, Callie was momentarily taken aback. _No secrets,_ Callie had to remind herself before answering Arizona's question. "My family has hand in the metaphoric 'hotel cookie jar' and the one we are currently staying in just so happens to be one that we have asmallinvestmentin."

"All I got out of that was your family likes hotels. Care to elaborate?" Arizona wasn't necessarily demanding, but she really wanted to know the truth behind Callie's living situation.

Callie exhaled at dramatic breathe and finally answered, "When my great-grandfather came to America, the first thing he did was invest the little bit of money he had to his name in a quaint Miami bed and breakfast. Over the years, that B&B became a staple to the Miami community. With every dollar that he made, mi bisabuelo invested in a hotel company. That company happened to be the Hilton Worldwide Hotel Company. Eventually, he-and my abuelo- had enough money to match the largest investor, and they quickly became managing partners of Hilton Worldwide. When my Papi entered the family business, he added the shrewd 'business-man' mentality that the other two lacked. My father was able to negotiate a much more lucrative deal in favor of my family. Now, technically, all Embassy Suites and subsequent hotels are owned and operated by the Torres' family."

Arizona was having a very difficult time wrapping her head around the notion that Callie wasn't just a successful boxer, but she was also a hotel heiress. "Oh."

"Yea, so that's how I'm all the way upstairs." Callie tried to downplay the actuality that she lived in the biggest and most expensive room in the hotel for the majority of the year.

"Did you really date Conor McGregor?" Arizona couldn't bite her tongue. It had been driving her crazy since she saw it on Wikipedia.

Callie was happy to answer this question, knowing that it would put the pretty blonde's mind to rest for a moment. "No, I never dated him. I followed him on tour for about 6 months while I was studying the mixed martial arts fighting style. My PR team reached out to him, Anderson Silva, and Chris Weidman to ask all three of them if I could shadow them and train with them. Anderson and Chris both said no, but Conor said yes. So, he and I spent half a year doing everything together." Callie then raised her hand signaling the need for waiter. When he finally showed up, she requested a dessert menu for us to look over.

Arizona processed Callie's words and decided that what she was hearing was truth. "What about the contestant last year. Did you date her?"

 _There it is. There's the question I was trying to avoid._ Callie knew this moment was coming. As soon as Arizona said that she used the Internet to find out about her, Callie knew that sooner or later, Arizona was going to ask her about Erica. It's not that Callie was ashamed of her answer. In fact, it was just the opposite. Callie was proud of the fact that she had become a role model for young women. What made her nervous was the fact that she was now face to face with a woman who not only knew of her past, but was also interested in being part of her future. "Yes. I dated a competitor last year and yes, that's why I initially pushed you away." Callie watched Arizona expression fall to one of utter despair. "But, after tonight I'm not sure I want to push you away anymore."

Just as their conversation found its natural ending, the waiter returned with the restaurant's dessert offerings.

"Oh my god, they have tiramisu! That's my favorite!" Arizona exclaimed as she lowered the menu. "What are you going to get?"

Callie looked up from the menu to see two piercing blue eyes happily staring back at her. "I don't see what I want on the menu", she sexily divulged.

Forcing down the lump that had just formed in her throat, Arizona decided right then and there that she didn't need a sweet cake for her dessert. She needed Callie. Motioning again for their waiter, he quickly appeared back at their table. "Our meal is taken care of, correct?" Arizona spat out her question

"Yes, Ms. Robbins. You and your guests meal has been taken care of by the Embassy Suites house account."

Looking to Callie and frowning Arizona growled, "So I ask you to dinner and your family ends up paying for it? Awesome, Calliope. Awesome."

"Arizona, stop. Please don't think of it as my family paying for it. Webber is the one who sets all this stuff up, so whatever charges occur on Saturday nights get directly put on his room number." Callie pleaded with the blonde, who was quickly retreating into her self-conscious shell.

Reaching into her clutch wallet, Arizona pulled out a two twenties and handed them to the waiter who had taken excellent care of them.

"Thank you, ma'am. Enjoy the rest of your evening." He graciously accepted the blonde's tip and retreated to the kitchen.

After a few tense and silent moments between each other, Arizona realized that she was being ridiculous. She had just spent an entire evening with Callie. Their date had been more than perfect, and now she was pouting for no real reason. Sure the bill was sent to the hotel, but it's not like the hotel was paying for it! Richard was! _Fix this, fix this right now Arizona or Callie's going to think you've suddenly become uninterested._ "I'd like to apologize to Callie." She stated

Raising a confused eyebrow to the blonde, Callie asked "Why? For what?"

Forcing down the last bit of ego and pride she had let get the best of her, Arizona answered, "For my brooding behavior just then. I got upset and I don't even know why really. But you didn't deserve me shutting down like that, especially after how amazing tonight has been." The twinkle in her blue eyes returned as she reflected on the night's events.

"Tonight has been pretty great, hasn't it?" Callie smiled, fully accepting the blonde's kind apology, while also thinking it wasn't entirely necessary, but welcomed nonetheless.

The mood between the women had shifted from that of lust and desire back to curiosity concerning their backgrounds. Arizona once again held the door open for Callie as they exited the restaurant and made their way out into the crisp Seattle night. "It's only a couple blocks back to the hotel, would you like to walk and talk a little bit more? Callie asked, really not wanting to end such a wonderful first date on such a sour note.

Arizona searched Callie's facial expression, looking for any hesitation or resistance to the blonde. When she found nothing but hope looking back at her Arizona nodded her head. "Yes, Calliope. I would love that."

"My dad's normally the only person who I let call me that…but there's something about the way it rolls off your tongue that makes me want to hear it over and over and over again."

Arizona could feel her heart swelling in her chest. It was as if it was going to burst right out of her ribcage and she loved it. Callie made her feel things she never thought possible. She felt high just being in presence. Like she was floating on the clouds and she never wanted that feeling to go away.

"This isn't fair, you know?" Arizona snapped her head left look at Callie with furrowed eyebrows and a quizzical look. When Callie saw that she had gotten Arizona's attention, she went on. "You know all about me now, while I'm totally and completely in the dark about you."

A look of relief swept across the blonde's features. She had no idea where Callie was going with that comment when she first heard it, but if all she had to do was share some of her background-well that was doable. "What would you like to know?"

Callie raised her index finger to her mouth and tapped the pad of her lone digit against her lips, "Hmmm…" she feigned. "How about let's start with your family. Do you have any siblings?"  
Thankful for an easy first question Arizona shook her head in affirmation. "Yes, I have an older brother, Tim. He's two years older than me."

"And what does Tim do?"

"He is, well was, in the Marines. He was medically discharged a couple years back after his left leg got blown off in an explosion." Arizona looked to Callie to see worry and shock written all over her face. "But he's okay!" she quickly added. "He's doing great now. He's moved back in with my mom and me so that we could help him make the adjustment. Now he's looking for work. When he was younger he always loved to draw, so I think he's going to talk to a couple shop managers and try get an apprenticeship in a tattoo studio."

"A marine and an artist, impressive," Callie said as she reached out and took Arizona's hand in hers so they could quickly cross the street together.

Arizona relished the feeling of their fingers being laced together and the familiar tingling sensation radiating through their palms. "Yea the Marine thing is more impressive than the tattoo artist, but I'd much rather him being doing that instead of carrying a big gun through the desert. Stupid family tradition." She muttered the last few words barely loud enough for Callie to catch them.

"Family tradition?" the inflection of her voice signaled Arizona to please elaborate.

Cursing herself for even bringing this up on the first date, Arizona looked to the brunette who had brought their pace to a halt in front of their hotel. The women stood face to face on the sidewalk, the warm glow from the lobby of the hotel illuminating their features. "Yes, apparently being Robbins man means you have to enlist in the Marines at the ripe old age of eighteen." Anger and sadness dripped from the words she continued to speak. "Men going all the back to my great-great-great grandfather served in the military. It's just a thing we do."

"That's very honorable and noble of your family though Arizona. You should be proud-"

For the second time in so many days, Arizona could feel the tears gathering in her eyes. When they barrier of eyelashes refused to hold them back, wet tracks made their way down her cheeks. "I should be proud, I know Calliope. But I'm also furious. A stupid 'family tradition' got my dad killed and my brother's leg blown up! How can I be proud of the fact that my family is no longer complete and that my brother will never be the same?"

Callie stood wide-eyed listening to the blonde's impassioned rant. When she was sure that Arizona wasn't going to speak again, Callie closed the space between them and wrapped her strong arms around the shivering frame of the smaller woman. She held tight and rubbed her hand up and down Arizona's strong back. She worked to sooth the tears and restore her breathing to normal and when she felt Arizona exhale a relaxed sigh, Callie pulled away. Keeping her hand resting on her shoulders and their foreheads nearly touching, Callie looked into wet blue eyes. "Arizona, I'm sorry. I had no idea. I was just trying to get to know you. Because, and believe me, I _really_ want to know you."

A soft nod was all she could offer Callie. "Can we go inside now, it's cold out here?"

Disappointed in the way things were seemingly going to end, all Callie could do was concede to the blonde's wishes. "Yes, of course. Come on."

The walk through the lobby was silent, as was the elevator ride up to Callie's floor. The walk back to the hotel may not have been a high point, but Arizona kept in mind that she needed to blow Callie away on this date and that meant remaining chivalrous and polite to the lady. So she would accompany her to her front door, bid her goodnight, and then retreat down to the fifteenth floor to chastise herself for losing her shit on the sidewalk outside.

As they approached Callie's door, Arizona was the first to speak. "Callie, I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you for accepting my offer and joining me for dinner."

Callie smiled, the happy and sincere tone had returned to Arizona's voice. "Thank you for choosing me as your guest. I, too, had a wonderful time." Knowing she should've ended the conversation there, but unable to stop her mouth from continuing it, "Maybe we could do it again sometime?"

Arizona froze. She was not at all expecting Callie to ask her out again. She immediately wanted to reply with an overexcited yes, but she got a better idea instead. Instead, she took a half step towards Callie, effectively closing the small space that was hovering between them and carefully eased Callie against her still closed door. Arizona stared into the eyes of her crush before pressing her pink lips into the plump ones she hadn't been able to look away from all night. She'd wanted to kiss Callie for days, and now she was finally doing just that. Arizona brought her hands up and placed them on Callie's cheeks, gently pulling herself closer to the taller woman. As she began working her lips against Callie's she heard a moan of appreciation come from the Latina. _Yea, she's loving this as much as I am._

All too soon, she felt Callie's hands on her hips pushing her away instead of pulling her in. "Arizona," Callie breathlessly said. "Arizona, we have to stop."

Really, really not wanting to stop but too much of a gentle(wo)man to force herself onto Callie, Arizona took a step back from the Latina. "I'm a competitor, I know. You can't do this. It's fine, I get it."

"No, no that's not it. I mean that was it, but after tonight I don't think I can avoid you, us, anymore. I just want to take things slow. I tend to rush into relationships, and I want to do this one right"

Dimples popping in a smile, Arizona dropped her jaw and placed a hand over her heart while pretending to be appalled. "You were avoiding me?"

"Why do you think Bailey did your review every night?" Callie flatly retorted before supplying a flirty wink.

Smirking at her own obliviousness, Arizona leaned over to peck Callie's cheek "Slow. We'll take this slow and we will see where it goes." Then, summoning a little bit more courage from deep down, Arizona once again leaned over toward Callie. This time pressing her lips onto Callie's for a chaste kiss. "Goodnight, Calliope." She said smiling against the Latina's plump and perfectly delicious lips.

"Goodnight, Arizona. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that Callie turned her back to the blonde and swiped her key card through the reader. One last look over her shoulder, she couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. Arizona was doing a silent celebration in the hallway. Fist thrown in the air and eyes closed looking up toward the ceiling. Slipping into her room, her sneaked view of the blonde having been undetected. _Could she be any more adorable?_

* * *

 **A/N3: Comments and reviews are more than appreciated! Hope y'all like their first kiss and the promise for future dates :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: So sorry for the delay on this chapter. I had a little trouble finding the right place to start this chapter, and I'm still not 100% satisfied with the beginning of it, but I didn't want to keep y'all waiting anymore. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **A/N2: I have every intention of keeping up with this story, despite how the season ended. I know we are all saddened by the turn of events and more so the departure of our beloved Sara. I think it's best we look at it how she described it as "time off". Let's hope and pray she returns with vengeance and comes back to sweep Arizona off her feet when she realizes that going to NY was a mistake.**

* * *

Chapter 10: _Mimosas_

Arizona was riding a euphoric wave of happiness as she leisurely made her way back to her and Teddy's room. Everything in her life felt right. She was where she belonged, doing what she loved to do, and had just kissed the most amazing person she'd ever met. While riding the elevator back down to her floor, Arizona slipped her iPhone out of her back pocket and fired off a text to her brother.

 **Best. Big. Brother. EVER! Callie loved our date and thanks to you and you're "wooing" idea, she wants to see me again!**

Before she could hit the home button, she watched as a bubble with three dots appeared on her screen. Across the country, Tim was furiously typing out a reply to his sister.

 **I'm glad the wooing helped, but I'm sure that's not the reason she wants to see you again. Zona, you're an amazing person but you don't give yourself enough credit. What "she-who-will-not-be-named" did to you all those years ago was cruel, but don't for one second think that it was your fault. It's evident that Callie sees how great you are and it's time for you to start seeing that too. I love you sis. Mom says congratulations and sends her love as well.**

Arizona clutched her phone to her heart, loving the fact that her brother-the big, strong, tough as nails, Marine could also be such a softie. And maybe he did have a point, for a little over three years now Arizona had become a different person. She used to be someone whose confidence boiled over the surface of her being. She used to walk into a room and all eyes would be on her. Not only because she was drop dead gorgeous, but because she had an air about her that people could sense. Some may have called her egotistical, but it wasn't that way. Arizona just knew that she could achieve whatever she set her mind to. Sometimes that was a job and sometimes that was a woman.

But then something, or someone, happened and that fire went out. For a long time Arizona walked around aimlessly. She quit going to work, she quit going out with her friends and she became a hermit. Fully and completely shutting herself off from the world she used to know. She shrunk back into a self-conscious version of herself and never quite got over what happened.

It wasn't until she got the call that Tim had been injured in Afghanistan and was coming home, that she finally decided to come out of hiding. Tim needed her and if she wasn't going to get better for herself, she sure as shit would do it for Tim. To her mother's delight, Arizona emerged from the depths of her depressed state and began trying to work on herself. Barbara had read that sometimes people suffering from depression benefited from a rush of endorphins to their systems. For months, she had been trying to convince Arizona to go for run or to join a gym and get a good work out in. Hell, she'd even suggested that she have a couple one night stands just to get something going for her daughter! Apparently, the only thing that was going to get Arizona motivated again, was the return of her beloved older brother.

Shaking her head out of the fogginess of the three-year-old memory, Arizona exited the elevator carriage and made the short trek to room 1502.

As soon as she heard the door click open, Teddy muted the television and impatiently waited for her roommate to come into view. "Hey! How was the date?" Teddy asked, eagerly awaiting every single detail of her roommates adventure.

Arizona closed the heavy door behind her, leaned her back up against it and with an obnoxiously dimpled smile glued to her face she simply replied "It was perfect."

"Like how perfect?" Teddy asked, completely unsatisfied with Arizona's answer. Perfect was just not going to be enough detail for her.

Lunging forward and removing her heels, Arizona sat down on her bed facing Teddy. "Perfect as in, we spent time getting to know each other. She learned about my dad and my brother and she didn't run when I kind of lost it over my dad. Instead she held me tightly and comforted me until I was able to compose myself. She didn't judge me for not being fluent in high-society dining. Which, by the way, are you aware of how many forks you get at fancy restaurants?"

"What happened to your dad? And yes, you get a salad fork and then a dinner fork. Annnd so far, you've told me what she now knows about you, but what do you know about her?" A little exasperated now, Teddy just wanted her to get to the good stuff!

"My dad was killed in action while fighting in the Gulf War. His unit was one of the first waves to invade Kuwait, but the rebels were ready for them." Sniffling away a tear, she continued to fill Teddy in on the events of dinner. "So we get to the restaurant and she orders us a bottle of wine, we have the most amazing conversation. She told me about her family and her past. Turns out she never dated Conor McGregor, but she did date a competitor last year!"

"That's good for you right?"

"Teddy, that's amazing for me! After dinner we walked back to the hotel, holding hands almost the entire way. Then, we got to her front door she told me she wanted to see me again and I kissed her."

"You kissed her?!"

"Damn right I kissed her! And Teddy, oh my god, it was _perfect_. I- she- her lips…" Arizona was having a very hard time explaining the amazingness that was her and Callie's first kiss. In reality, there probably were no words accurate enough to describe how it made her feel. Sure there were the typical clichés, but even the 'foot-popping, butterflies in your belly' that people seek in a kiss wouldn't do their kiss justice. It was just…perfect.

Teddy was so happy for Arizona. She knew how badly Arizona wanted this date in the first place and now to hear that it went well was icing on the cake. "So then what happened? Did you make out like a bunch of teenagers and then carry it on into the bedroom?" she continued pestering Arizona for details, this time adding some suggestive eyebrow raises to the end of her question.

"For your information," Arizona sternly replied, "No, we didn't. We kept it strictly PG and then she asked that we take it slow. And honestly, as much as I want to jump her bones right here, right now, it's probably better that we do wait. I want to get to know Calliope more, everything about her- not just the boxer in her."

Deciding that should be the end of their conversation, Arizona got up from her bed and removed her pajamas from the top drawer of her dresser. "I'm gonna change and then hit the hay, who knew a first date could be so exhausting!" As she was just about to close the bathroom door to change, she heard Teddy call out something about tomorrow's plans. Swinging the door back open and stalking back into their bedroom "What do you mean 'What am I doing with her tomorrow?'"

Snickering in good humor, Teddy simply replied "Well, we have Sunday's off, so I figured you'd have something else plan for your girl…so what do you have planned?"

First a look of confusion flashed across Arizona's features, how could she forget to plan a second date on their off day. That look was followed quickly by panic, and then determination. Arizona was somehow going to make this date even better than the first – but how?

Totally forgetting about her plan to change and go to bed, Arizona flopped back down onto her bed still dressed in her jeans and blazer. She grabbed her iPad from the nightstand and quickly googled 'Seattle weekend event calendar'. With Teddy intently watching her, Arizona perused the various links trying to find something that would stand out. Of course there were the typical ferry rides around the bay and traveling to the top of the space needle, but Arizona wanted something unique. Something that would stand out against the rest, making it the most memorable and amazing second date.

"Hmmm, this could work." she mumbled

"What? What could work? C'mon Zona, tell me what you're planning!" Teddy begged and pleaded for any inkling of what Arizona could be planning.

Turning her head to left and looking at her roommate who had turned on the puppy dog eyes in hopes of getting information out of her, Arizona shook her and said, "Sorry Teds, I don't want to jinx it. What I can tell you is that if it this works out, it's going to be amazing. I just hope she likes sports other than boxing."

* * *

The next morning, Arizona woke up feeling refreshed, excited, and hopeful. Today was going to be her second date with Callie and she couldn't wait to get up to the thirtieth floor to ask her out again. She rolled over in her bed to look at the clock, 9:08; _oh, slept longer than I thought_. Before getting up, she stretched her frame allowing all her joints and muscles to pop and flex, expunging the gas bubbles that had formed over night. Then she sat up in bed and twisted from side to side, cracking her spine all the way up and down. _Mmm, that felt good. Alright let's do this._

A hot shower was in order first. Then a call down to the kitchen to get a full breakfast tray for two delivered to her room. Once dressed in form fitting, medium wash, skinny jeans and a Marine Corps t-shirt whose deep red had faded subtly over the years with the gold 'USMC' letters looked cracked and worn. She capped off her look with L.L. Bean duck boots and her white North Face rain jacket-because of course it was raining outside. _This rain better not fuck up my plans completely._ Whipping out her phone, she quickly pulled up The Weather Channel app and checked the rest of the day's forecast. 11 am: 80% chance of rain _; great._ Noon: 50% chance of rain; _okay, that's better._ 1 pm: 35% chance of rain; _well the event starts at 1:30 so as long as the chance of rain keeps going down we should be okay._ 2 pm: 15% chance of rain; _Oh thank you Lord! I'll still wear my rain jacket, but by the time we get there I probably won't need it._

Just as Arizona was putting the finishing touches on her light layer of make-up and running a brush through her straightened golden locks one last time, there was knock on their door. Seeing that Teddy was still out cold, Arizona exited the bathroom and proceeded to open the door. Staring back at her was a bell-boy pushing a silver cart containing a breakfast spread fit for a queen.

"Ms. Robbins?" he asked.

"Yes, that's me. You can just leave the cart right there, I'm going to be taking it up to another floor." She slipped her wallet out of her back packet and pulled out a ten-dollar bill, handing it to the boy and thanking him for bringing the cart to her. Before leaving the room for good, Arizona scribbled a note for Teddy onto the hotel stationary and left it sitting on the bedside table.

 **You sleep too long…and snore! Headed out to see Callie. Wish me luck! Text me when you're up and maybe the three of us can do something later this afternoon? –Zona**

Wheeling the cart to the elevator and up fifteen floors, Arizona finally arrived at Callie's door. Only she wasn't alone. Standing there, already knocking was Mark. _Fucking Mark, go away!_

"Blondie." Mark acknowledged her presence, but didn't give her any more attention that that.

"Mark." Arizona replied just as curtly. "Did you just get here?"

"Not that it's _any_ of your concern, but yes. I was hoping to talk to Callie and see if she might be interested in going out today. I see that you may have something similar planned?"

Disgusted at the thought of Callie spending any more time than necessary with this man whore, Arizona just nodded her head. Although she did notice that Mark came bearing no gifts for the Latina. _One point Arizona, zero points Mark_.

"Well, in that case, may the best _man_ win," Mark made sure to emphasize the word man and then getting frustrated that Callie still hadn't answered the door, he raised his closed fist and knocked louder and longer than the first time.

Mark and Arizona stood in silence in the hallway as the waited for their woman to answer the door. Finally hearing rustling on the other side of the door, each of them straightened up and stood tall. Hoping that a first impression here would secure a date for the day.

* * *

Callie threw open the door in frustration. _Who the fuck is knocking on my door this early in the morning? Do they not know this is my one day off all week?_ The first person she saw standing in the hallway was Mark, and Callie immediately got even more frustrated. Not only was she rudely pulled away from her warm and fluffy king size bed, but the person who had done it was the last person she wanted to see. But as she continued to open the door, she noticed there was another person standing in the hallway. It was the blonde that had been occupying not only her mind, but also her dreams.

"Morning", "Good morning, Calliope" Mark and Arizona said in unison.

Callie just stared back at the two, her still sleep clouded mind could not process how or why the two of them were both at her door.

"I brought you-", but Arizona's words were cut off by an impatient Mark.

"Go out with me." It wasn't so much a question as a demanding statement. Mark was clearly nervous knowing that the blonde was after Callie as much as he was. Though it didn't necessary bother him that Callie could also be interested in women, it did bother him that the woman she seemed to want was Arizona.

Noticing Callie's hesitation to give an answer, Arizona became extremely nervous. _Is she really considering going out with Mark right now?_ _Quick, say something. Don't let her agree to Mark!_ "Wait! Before you say anything, let me get out what I tried to say before Mark forgot his manners and interrupted me."

Two sets of eyes were on her. Marks were shooting daggers into the side of her head and she could feel the anger radiating off of him. But Callie's eyes were soft and inviting, it was as if she had already made her decision but wanted to hear Arizona speak anyways. Callie nodded her head, silently telling Arizona to continue her request.

"I brought you breakfast, and, and I wasn't sure exactly what you liked so I got the whole spread. I figured we could eat, have a mimosa or two and then spend the day exploring Seattle together. I've got a couple of ideas of fun things to do today and I would absolutely love it if you would join me?"

Upon finishing her little monologue, Arizona heard Mark give an exaggerated 'hmph' and then mumble something derogatory under his breath.

"What was that, Mark?" Callie shifted her gaze from the blonde to the man.

Blushing slightly, knowing he had been busted being rude yet again. "Nothing, nothing. I was just saying that I, um, I was going to take you to breakfast. Yea, I didn't bring breakfast because I was going to offer to take you out for food." _Smooth Mark, nice recovery._

Callie's eyes shifted back and forth between her two suitors. She had made up her mind the minute she saw the two of them standing at the door, but there was something about having all the power in this situation that made her want to keep them on edge just a little bit longer. She gave each of them a hard look noting that the way Mark was standing looked like he was about to pee his pants. He was shifting back and forth and wringing his hands together. _Wow, for a decent enough looking guy, he has some serious confidence issues._

Then she looked to Arizona. Her bright blue eyes shining even at such an early time in the morning. Though Callie supposed it was only early too her, nobody valued sleep as much as Calliope Torres. She also noticed that Arizona was dressed and ready for the day. _She's got something up her sleeve, I wonder what?_ _And damn she looks so cute with those bean boots on, she may have lived all over the world but she's definitely a southerner at heart._ The last thing Callie noticed about the blonde was that she was standing straight up, giving Callie one of her best dimpled smiles, and over all just looked incredibly confident.

Decision time, and this was a no-brainer. "As much as I appreciate the offer, Mark, I like breakfast as soon as I wake up." She flashed a smile to Arizona and then went on, "Oh, and anytime mimosas are mentioned, I'm a goner." Callie winked at Arizona and then grabbed her hand pulling her inside her suite. Mark was left standing dumbfounded in the hallway, his nose inches away from the door that just got slammed in his face.

* * *

"You had me nervous there for a minute." Arizona confessed to Callie once she was comfortably inside the penthouse. As she began to unload the breakfast cart onto the dining room table, she felt Callie come up behind her. Then there were hands on her waist, and she could feel Callie's front being pressed into her back.

Lips were then at her ears, "No need to be nervous," Callie seductively whispered into Arizona's ear sending a bolt of desire straight to her core. "It was always you." Callie ended her reveal with a languid kiss to the shell of Arizona's ear.

Desperately needing more from Callie, Arizona spun around in her arms so that they were facing each other. The heat that was emanating from the two of them was palpable. Their eyes were full of lust and their hearts racing a mile a minute. Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie's neck, while Callie's hands remained on the blonde's narrow hips. "I know we said we would take this slow, but the only thing I can think about is kissing you again."

"I don't think kissing breaks the 'slow' rule." Callie honestly answered, effectively giving the blonde permission to capture her lips. And that's just what Arizona did.

There, standing in the middle of Callie's living and dining area, Arizona pressed her lips into Callie's and kissed her with everything she had. First it was slow and methodical. She allowed for them to become familiar with each other's lips and the way they felt against each other. Slowly, the kiss turned more and more heated. Callie then took the lead, seeking more from Arizona. She let her tongue slip out and graze Arizona's lips. Arizona willingly responded and opened her mouth giving Callie access, as she too allowed her tongue to explore Callie's mouth.

The two women spent the next few minutes in a tight embrace, the only sounds in the room were those of heavy breathing, soft moans and occasionally a popping noise as one would release a bruised bottom lip from pearly white teeth.

When the need for fresh air became to too great, Callie broke their passionate exploration, "Woah, that was…"

"Yea," Arizona agreed without hesitation. "Is it just me or did you feel all the tingles too?" she nervously asked Callie.

A wide smile broke across Callie's face, and Arizona immediately knew that it wasn't just her who had felt the electric buzzing through their bodies during that kiss. It was the same feeling she had gotten the night before when they were holding hands, and the same delightful jitters that she got the first time she touched Callie's arm the night she chased her to her penthouse.

"So, breakfast?" Callie asked, changing the subject before the heat in the room got turned up before they were ready for it to.

Knowing their intimate moment was over, Arizona happily replied "Yes. Like I said, I didn't know exactly what you liked, so I got some of everything. And I know you were excited about the mimosas, so I'll get those going."

Callie planted an innocent kiss on Arizona's cheek and then grabbed a slice of bacon from the tray. "Yes, I love mimosas! And bacon, and waffles. Oh, and scrambled cheese eggs."

Arizona allowed the bubbles of the champagne to recede before adding a splash of orange juice. When she was satisfied with the champagne to OJ ratio, Arizona took a flute in each hand, offering one to Callie and keeping the other for herself. She then slightly raised the glass in Callie's direction, indicating she'd like to cheers their drinks before taking their first sips. Callie mirrored Arizona's actions and the listened as the blonde toasted their morning breakfast. "To our second date, may it be just as magical as the first…only better."

Callie giggled as she clinked her glass with Arizona's. _She is too damn cute._ Both women took a sip from their glasses and reveled in how perfect their morning cocktails tasted.

The next twenty minutes went by with both women picking and choosing from the various foods found on their breakfast tray. Between the two of them, the plate of bacon was finished off first. Arizona made a mental note that they would need extra bacon for next time. _Next time, I like the sound of that._ Callie ate all the grapes and pineapple from the fruit tray, while Arizona indulged on the cantaloupe and kiwi. Each woman had a waffle, a small helping of cheese eggs, and another mimosa. When they were more than stuffed from their excessive, but delicious breakfast Arizona looked to the cart and again took note of what they had left on the trays. Neither woman had touched the hard-boiled eggs or the sausage links that came on the same plate as the bacon. _Interesting, we don't like sausage_. The only fruit left was apple slices, and the last thing that went untouched was the plate of ham.

"I see you're not a fan of ham either?" Arizona asked, gesturing towards the mountain of pink meat piled on a oversized serving dish.

Making a fake gagging noise and sticking out her tongue, Callie gave Arizona her answer without having to say a word.

"Me neither, it's so disgusting. Like salty meat that's slippery and gooey. Yuck!" Arizona then scanned the expanse of Callie's apartment in search of a clock. They weren't necessarily on a schedule, but Arizona wanted to make sure they had enough time to get to all she had in mind for the day. When she couldn't immediately find a clock, Arizona pulled her phone from her rain jacket pocket. It was nearly 11:30, if they were going to make it to their first stop, she needed to get Callie moving. "Are you all finished with your breakfast, beautiful?"

Callie smiled, loving the fact that Arizona was already giving her a pet name. "Yes, oh my gosh, I'm so full." Callie watched as Arizona began to clean up their breakfast area. "Just leave all that, I'll call for someone to come up and take care of the dishes and cart. So what are we doing today?"

Happy to leave the dishes where they were, but not willing to give too many details to Callie, Arizona replied, "It's sort of a surprise. But we will be outside for the majority of the day so dress accordingly. I checked the weather this morning, and the chance of rain decreases as the day goes on, but I would suggest bringing your rain jacket anyways. Do you need to shower?"

"Yes, but I can do that really quickly. Give me twenty or so minutes and I'll be ready!"

"Okay, take your time beautiful. I'll be here when you're ready." Arizona offered giving Callie a dimpled smile and wink before she watched her retreat to her bedroom and en suite bathroom. If the rest of the day went as well as breakfast, there was no doubt in her mind that this second date was going to be even better than their first.

* * *

 **A/N3: Next chapter will be the rest of their second date. Anyone have any ideas of what Arizona could have planned? I know what I want to happen, so the update shouldn't take too long. Let me know what you think about everything so far!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **A/N: So when I started out writing this story, I wanted it to be angsty and dramatic, however, a couple things have happened to dictate a change in the stories natural flow. The first one being how freaking terrible the season finale was (though I still hold out hope for Calzona endgame!). The second thing is the (temporary) departure of Sara Ramirez. The show just won't be the same... The third thing to happen was my break up. Apparently all three of these things combined has turned me into quite a sap. All that being said this story seems to be taking on a happier, less angsty-more fluffier, storyline. There will still be some moments of drama and our girls will have some ups and downs, but overall it's going to be a happy, loving tale. Okay, sorry for the ramble...Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11: _OTA's_

Half an hour later, Callie emerged from her bedroom to find Arizona looking at pictures on the mantle of her room's fireplace. "That's my sister, Aria. She's a lawyer back in Miami. Her and my mother worked together for a while, but when my mom decided to shut down her practice and strictly do pro-bono work, Aria was forced to find a new job. Although, it's really worked out in her favor because she just made junior partner a few months ago."

Arizona stood in awe listening to Callie tell of her family. All four Torres' were very good looking. Their genes were definitely blessed by the Latina gods. And the way Callie reverently spoke about her sister's accomplishments made Arizona swoon. She turned her attention back to the line of pictures on the mantle, scanning the various photographs one last time before asking Callie if she was ready to go.

"Yep, I just need to put my rain boots on and grab my jacket out of the front closet." Callie had kept her outfit equally as casual as Arizona's. Opting for dark, skinny jeans and a grey Seahawks V-neck t-shirt. The shirt was cut low enough to give Arizona sample of what she had to offer, but not low enough to reveal too much. As they walked toward the front door, Callie opened the small coat closet and slipped her black Patagonia rain jacket off the hanger. After donning her protective coat, she leaned down and grabbed her green Hunter rain boots, slipping them on over her thick boot socks. When she was satisfied with how her shoes felt on her feet, she looked to Arizona and said, "There, now I am ready!"

"Great! Let's get this date started." Arizona beamed as she thought about how perfect Callie's outfit was and how good she looked in it. The two made their way out of the hotel's front doors and onto the sidewalk where the doorman was standing.

"Morning, Ms. Torres." He greeted with a smile. "Anything I can do for you this morning?"

Arizona stood beside Callie quietly, somewhat in shock that the doorman knew who she was…until she very quickly remembered why the doorman knew who she was.

"Good morning Pete." Arizona heard Callie return the greeting. "Um, I'm not sure. I am being surprised for the day." Callie went on, flashing first Arizona and then Pete her glorious smile. Callie then took a moment to introduce the two strangers, making sure Pete knew that Arizona was now equally as important as Callie and she was to get whatever she needed, whenever she needed it.

"Calliope, you didn't have to do that." Arizona admonished, not needing the extra attention just because of who she was dating. _Wait, are we dating?_

Callie turned, taking both of Arizona's hands in hers. "I know I didn't _have_ to do that, but I _wanted_ to. You are becoming a very important piece of my life-quicker than I imagined you would- but still. This is my hotel, and the people that work for me and my family need to know who you are and how special you are to me."

Now really blushing, all Arizona could do was smile and offer a quiet "Thank you." After a moment spent regaining her composure, Arizona then looked over Callie's shoulder in Pete's direction. "Pete, we will be needing a taxi this morning."

Nodding and leaving his station in front of the large revolving door, Pete walked to the curb of the sidewalk and began hailing a cab for the two women who were now lost in each other's eyes.

When the cab pulled up to the sidewalk where they were standing, Pete opened the back door for them and allowed them to slide in comfortably. "Enjoy your afternoon ladies," he offered before firmly closing the door of the car.

The cab driver looked into his rearview mirror making eye contact with Arizona who was ready to provide him with their destination. "CenturyLink Field, please."

The driver nodded and put on his blinker to enter back into Seattle traffic. Their hotel wasn't far from the stadium, but with the light sprinkle of rain a cab ride would've been better than the walk.

"CenturyLink?" Callie eyed Arizona suspiciously. "Now, I know that's where the Seahawks play, but you do know it's May right? NFL ended three months ago and the preseason doesn't start until September."

"Do you know how hot I find it that you know that much about football?" Was the only answer to Callie's question Arizona would give.

Smiling at the hot comment Arizona made, but still not fully understanding why in the world they would be going to the stadium in the middle of May, Callie pressed on. "Seriously though, why are we going to the stadium?"

Turning in her seat so that she was no longer facing the back of the driver, but instead looking directly at Callie, Arizona began speaking. "My, my someone is not good with surprises." When Callie just lowered her gaze in mild embarrassment, Arizona continued. "But since you're cute, I guess I could fill you in a little bit." Callie quickly lifted her eyes back up to find sky blue ones smiling back at her. "Seahawks OTA's started this week. Rookies had to report on Monday, but this is the first day for veteran players. It's just their organized team activities so it is open to the public. I figured we could head to the stadium and watch them practice a bit. I know they usually do an autograph session before and after the day's work-outs, and from your choice of apparel today I am guessing you like the team?"

Callie sat completely silent in the back of the car. She could not believe that this was happening. She was a huge, huge Seahawks fan, specifically their quarterback Russell Wilson. And now, today, she was going to have the chance to see him practice and maybe, just maybe get his autograph. Arizona was incredible and she was beyond impressed with how much thought the blonde had put into this day so far. "You are amazing, did you know that?"

Now it was Arizona's turn to divert her gaze and blush. She had hoped that Callie would like the surprise, but it was a quite a big risk. If the brunette wasn't into sports, specifically football this would have been a ginormous flop and the date would've been terrible. Fortunately, someone was looking out for her because Callie was ecstatic. "So, I did okay then?"

"Okay? Arizona, you did way better than just okay! This is perfect! I've always wanted to go to game but the timing just never seemed to work out, and now you're taking me to see them up close and personal. You have seriously blown this date out of the water." Callie leaned in and pecked Arizona's lips to reiterate her sentiments.

The women carried on their football conversation as the driver navigated the rest of the short drive through traffic. After a few more short minutes, the car pulled up outside the main gate of the stadium. Arizona handed over the fare plus a nice tip for the driver and then exited the car. She again held the car door open for Callie and offered her a hand while she crawled out of the backseat.

Callie took Arizona proffered hand as she exited the car and this time, instead of letting go, Callie interlaced their fingers as they strolled up the sidewalk. The time was nearing 1:30 when the practice was supposed to begin. Both women took note of the crowd gathering outside the gate, there were probably 200 to 250 people waiting to enter.

Arizona scanned their surrounding and quickly noticed a storefront she wanted to check out before they entered the stadium. "Hey, can we run in that store really quick? I don't have any Seahawks gear and I don't want to show up to the party empty handed."

Callie understood what Arizona meant and nodded to the blonde, allowing her to lead the way into the small but jammed packed with stuff souvenir store. "What are you going to get?" she asked.

Arizona walked up down the aisles, gently pulling Callie along with her. "I don't know. What should I get? We've been living in in Virginia for so long that I naturally started rooting for the Washington Redskins, but to be honest I hate that team. They have a horrible name and even though they finally seem to have the quarterback controversy figured out…they still kind of suck."

Callie could not get over how cute the blonde was when she got on one of her rambling rants. "Well, I've been a Seahawks fan since I moved out here. My dad can't stand it because he is all about the Miami Dolphins, but when you haven't done anything significant since Dan Marino, you lose my attention." There was a brief pause in their conversation as Callie looked around the store trying to figure out what the blonde should get. "How about a 'Twelfth Man' flag? That's a huge staple for their fan base and it can easily be signed if you want it to?"

Callie watched Arizona smile at the idea of getting a flag and listened as she said how perfect it was. The women then approached the counter, and Arizona set the plastic wrapped flag down on the counter then turned to Callie, "Do you want to get one too?"

Thinking about her options for a moment, Callie finally nodded her head. "Yea, that might be a good idea. I was just going to get my shirt signed, but it might be awkward for them to be signing my chest, even with a shirt on." Callie giggled at the thought, but Arizona was not finding it amusing. Instead Arizona turned to the cashier and demanded that she ring up another flag.

With the two dark blue flags, embellished with a giant number 12 in hand, the two made their back across the street and through the gates of the stadium. They continued to walk hand in hand to through the small tunnel and out onto the lower level seating of the stadium. The rain had finally let up, and a few small rays of sun were poking through the overhanging clouds. As the women made their way closer to front of the crowd, they allowed themselves to become fully immersed in their surrounds. The smell of the freshly cut grass tickling their noses, the sharp piercing shrill of the coaches' whistles, and the warmth of the suns rays beginning to heat their exposed skin.

The way OTA's were set up was geared towards the fans' experience. Sure it was a mini-camp designed to give NFL players the chance to work out in between seasons, but more than that it was an opportunity for fans to get a taste of the action before the real season started. Fans were directed to sit in the first rows starting at the 50 yard line and then spreading out from there. They would first watch the new draft picks and second year players come out to run basic drills, essentially an intense work out. Then, the veterans would come out and do more interactive drills. Things such as running routes and reading defenses. Then a select few of the players would stay on the field for an autograph session.

Callie and Arizona were lucky enough to grab two seats on the third row that were directly behind where autograph table was set up. "We should be able to get in line quickly with these seats." Callie excitedly told Arizona, the giddiness in her voice was too cute for words.

"Who do you think is going to be signing today?" Arizona asked, relatively unfamiliar with this teams roster.

Callie mentally ran through some of the offensive and defensive names she remembered being on the team. "I'm not sure, but I hope that either Wilson, Thomas, or Baldwin are going to do it. I had Doug Baldwin on my fantasy team last year, and I swear he single handedly won me my league championship. And we picked up that running back from Notre Dame, C.J. something…he's suppose to be good so I wouldn't mind getting his signature too."

Happily surprised by Callie's depth of knowledge when it came to football, all Arizona could do was smile and kiss the beautiful Latina sitting next to her.

"What was that for?" Callie asked, returning Arizona's kiss with a peck of her own to the pink lips she was quickly becoming obsessed with kissing.

"You just surprised me is all. I love that you love football as much I do, and not a fake love for it either. You seem truly invested in the game. It frustrates me to no end when a girl fakes enthusiasm just to try and get on your good side. My ex did that. No matter how many games we watched together, no matter how many times I explained the rules, she never listened to what I was actually saying. She was convinced that every time someone scored in a game- no matter what sport we were watching- it was worth two points, just like it is in basketball. Forget trying to explain what the three point line was!" Arizona finished by rolling her eyes when she recalled just how frustrating it was to watch sports with Rachel.

Callie listening intently as Arizona brought up an old relationship for the first time. Not that it bothered her, because they had spent a good portion of last night talking about Erica. "Is that why you two didn't work out?" Callie genuinely asked.

Unsure if she was ready to cross this bridge yet, Arizona looked to Callie and then allowed her gaze to shift to the field where the rookies were starting to file out of the players tunnel and onto the grass. "It's a small part of why we didn't work out, yes. But it wasn't just the sports that we didn't have in common. Fundamentally, we were different. I wanted a future and a family and life I could share with someone and she was perfectly content keeping it simple and-"

But before she could finish her thought, Arizona busted into fit of laughter. Callie looked at her like she was growing another head. "What in the world is so funny?" Callie demanded, completely thrown off guard by the blonde's sudden change in composure.

Trying to stifle her boisterous laughter, Arizona took a couple deep breaths and then turned to Callie. _Guess this is going to happen now_ she thought to herself. "It's funny because she always told me that she never wanted a family because wanted to quote keep things between us end quote. It's funny because who says they want to keep things between _us_ and then goes and fucks another woman in your bed?!"

"Wait, whaaat?" Callie's mouth dropped open in shock and she could not believe what she had just heard.

The laughs Arizona was just having were now replaced by a somber and detached look. "Rachel and I had been together for a couple years and I thought things were going great. We had small two-bedroom apartment a few miles from where my mom lived. Tim was still deployed, but when he was in home on leave, he lived in the second bedroom. So, I came home from working a volunteer shift at the pet shelter in Alexandria-I've always wanted a dog but the apartment complex wasn't pet friendly. Anyway, I got home, went through my normal routine of taking shoes off, hanging up jacket and putting my keys on the ring by the front door. It took me a minute to sense it, but when I did, I knew something was off. There was a jacket I'd never seen before draped across the arm of our couch and a pair of ballet flats that looked too small to fit Rachel's feet. My first thought was that someone had broken into our apartment, so I grabbed the butcher's knife out of the knife block and began quietly stalking through the place. As I walked down the hall I started hearing muffled sounds, and I immediately knew what was happening. At that point I would've preferred there to have been a burglar. I set the knife down, knowing that if it was in my hand when I entered the room, the situation might escalate to a place I didn't want it to go. Then I approached our bedroom and quietly opened the door. There in my bed, was Rachel and some other woman. They were so focused on each other that they had no idea I had gotten home and discovered their tryst. Rachel had her pinned to mattress and was going at it with her using my toy! Can you believe that Callie? She was fucking her with my strap-on!" Arizona had lowered her voice to enough of a whisper as not to attract other listening ears as she revealed the last part of her discovery to Callie.

"Needless to say, I kicked both of them out and threw the tainted object away. I gave her 24 hours to get her shit out of the apartment before I burned it. She devastated me. I had done nothing but treat her like a queen and she took advantage of me in the worst way possible. Callie, she broke me. After that day, I sort of spiraled out of control. I was drinking a good bit and quit my job. Nothing made me happy anymore. My mom was worried about me all the time, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything. I just wanted the pain and hurt to go away and it wouldn't. A couple months into my depression, we got the call about Tim. That's when I snapped out of it. I realized that I couldn't feel sorry for myself any more when there were things like war and death happening." Arizona took a moment to process the emotions she had just brought back up while recounting the horrid events that occurred all those years ago.

Callie still sat quietly, listening intently to everything Arizona was revealing to her. She couldn't believe what Rachel had done. _Who could do that to someone so innocently beautiful? How could take her for granted, Rachel? Did you not see how lucky you were just to be in her presence?_ Those and so many other thoughts were circulating around in her head. She then noticed that Arizona was opening her mouth to speak again, but before she could get any words out Callie cut her off with a kiss.

A kiss that told Arizona everything she needed to know. Callie wasn't Rachel. Callie wasn't even on the same level as Rachel. She was trustworthy and honorable, and would never do anything to hurt her in that way, ever. Breaking the passionate embrace, Arizona locked eyes with Callie. Cobalt finding chocolate, noses and foreheads still practically touching, "I do have something to thank Rachel for though." She calmly stated.

Callie scoffed, "How can you thank that bitch for anything?"

"Easy," Arizona replied. "She led me to you."

Callie leaned back to get a fuller picture of the blonde. Their eyes remained locked together, their surroundings not really existing to the two of them. Right now, it was just them, alone in quiet stadium. "Arizona, what do you mean?"

Reaching down and taking Callie's hand in her again, "I mean that after Rachel, after the depression, after Tim's injury what got me back to being _me_ was boxing. I started running every morning, trying to get myself in shape in order to be able to help my mom with Tim. We knew it was going to be hard to maneuver a full-grown man around so I needed to get in shape. I joined a gym, started training, and one thing led to another. Now I'm here, with you and loving every moment of it. So yea, I guess I can thank her for what she did, because without the depression I wouldn't have needed to get back in shape."

Understanding exactly what Arizona was getting at, Callie smiled and simply said, "Well thank god for Rachel then!"

With heartfelt confessions out of the way, a weights lifted off their chests and both of their pasts now out in the open, the women were able to enjoy the rest of OTA's watching and cheering along with the crowd.

* * *

 **I do not snore! How's round two going with Callie? Where r u? I'm hungry and don't want hotel food. Can I third wheel for a bit?**

Callie watched as Arizona giggled like a school girl while staring at the screen of her phone. "What's got you tickled?" she asked.

"My roommate, Teddy. She just texted me. Her train of thought is quite comical. I think she just woke up and wants food. She asked if she could hang out with us, but I'm just going to respond real quick, tell her no and then no more phone, I promise." Arizona felt guilty for checking her phone while out on a date.

Callie thought quickly, "No don't. She's more than welcome to join us! She's your friend, Arizona and if I'm going to be with you then I need to be with your friends too."

"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin our date?"

Bobbing her head up and down, Callie continued "I am positive. Besides, there's no way this date could be ruined. I could be sitting here in the pouring rain, sleet, or snow and it wouldn't matter because I am here with you."

Hearing that and seeing the honesty in Callie's eyes, Arizona typed out a message to roommate instructing her to meet them at park in half an hour. "That should give us time to get autographs and get to rally in time."

"Rally?" Callie raised a questioning eyebrow at Arizona.

"Yes, the food truck rally in the park is tonight. Well, every Sunday afternoon to be specific." Arizona nonchalantly answered.

* * *

"Hey you two! Don't you look adorable together!?" Teddy exclaimed when she saw the two lovebirds approaching her hand in hand. Arizona and Callie were running just a few minutes late after their make out session at the stadium before leaving. Apparently sports get Callie really hot and bothered, because eager lips were attacking hers not two minutes after getting Russell Wilson, Kam Chancellor, and Tyler Lockett's autographs. Callie had pinned her up against the cement wall of the stadium and refused to let her move. Not that she was complaining! There was nothing hotter than being pinned against wall. She was definitely going to need a cold shower when she got back to her hotel room later.

"Hey Teddy!" Arizona finally replied when they got a little bit closer. "You've obviously met before, but this is Callie." Turning her attention to the woman holding her hand, she then gestured towards Teddy. "Calliope, this is my roommate and new best friend, Teddy."

The three women quickly fell into comfortable conversation. There was no trace of unease or awkwardness, which made Arizona extremely happy knowing that her _girlfriend?_ and best friend got along so well. Teddy listened as Callie recounted their morning and afternoon at the training camp. Callie seemed to go on and on about how amazing the last twenty-four hours had been all thanks to the blonde sitting next to her.

With the sun beginning to set in the western sky, the three ladies decided to make their way back to the hotel. They had spent the last two hours gorging themselves with food from all of the local vendors and food trucks. They tried everything from pork belly street tacos, to a peanut butter and banana hamburger, to fried Oreos. "You two might have to roll me back to the hotel!" Teddy joked.

When they arrived back at the hotel, it was still fairly early in the evening and truth be told, Callie was not ready for her time with Arizona to be over. So when the three entered the elevator, and Teddy moved to push both the button for the fifteenth floor and the button for the Emerald Penthouse, Callie couldn't stop her hand from reaching out and preventing Teddy from selecting the second destination.

Arizona watched the exchange and for life of her could not figure out what the heck Callie's problem was. "Callie, what's going on?" she asked.

Briefly taken aback by the accusatory tone she detected in Arizona's voice, Callie stumbled through her answer. "I-I just thought, well that maybe, if you wanted to, we could uh, watch a movie or something before I went back to my room?"

Standing in the corner of the elevator, Teddy smiled as she watched the two women struggle to reign in their growing emotions. When she realized that Arizona was too in shock to provide an answer, she quickly used her elbow and nudged her roommate back to reality.

"Yes! Yes, I would love to watch a movie with you! My room though? Are you sure?" Arizona was having a hard time believing that Callie would want to spend time in her dingy room when she had more than half of the top floor to herself. She also wasn't sure if Teddy would be okay with it. She had never voiced that she had an issue with Arizona begin gay, but bringing back a girl is whole nother thing. Deciding that she needed to make sure it was okay with her roommate before solidifying plans with Callie, she turned to Teddy who was still grinning like a fool. "Teds, you good with three of us watching a movie together?" Arizona hesitantly asked.

Without having to think about it Teddy quickly and happily answered, "Of course I'm okay with it! I think I saw where _Sixteen Candles_ is playing on HBO tonight. We could watch that?"

Before Arizona could get a word out, she noticed Callie bouncing on her heels sporting a giant grin. "Oh, I love that movie! Arrizzonaaa…" Callie whined, dramatically sticking her bottom lip out in an adorable pout. "I wanna watch the movie with youuu!"

How could she say no to that face? Callie pouting about wanting to spend more time with her was everything she thought it would be. The feelings that were blossoming for this woman were intense. Usually such intense feelings would send Arizona running for the hills, especially after what Rachel did to her. The longest relationship, if you can even call it that, she had after her ex was the time she accidentally spent two nights in a row at woman's house. She'd met a girl-Kayla, at the bar one night. After a few drinks they thought it'd be a good idea to head back to Kayla's apartment for some less than innocent fun. Well, mid-January in Virginia usually meant that the weather was not very favorable. When the two women woke up the next morning, they found themselves completely snowed into Kayla's apartment. In the midst of their dirty deeds in bed, a massive snowstorm had moved into the area, dumping a two feet of snow in a matter of hours. The city was taken totally surprised and normal day-to-day activities came to a screeching halt. The Governor declared a state of emergency for the county and the state had ice and salt trucks sent down from New York to help with the clean up. All that meant that Arizona was stuck, in a random apartment, with a random woman. They made the best of their situation, but with the power out and their phone's quickly dying there wasn't much they could do besides have sex. Luckily after the second night together, enough snow had been cleared for Arizona to be able to trudge her way home safely. With an awkward goodbye and the promise to never speak of their two-day rendezvous, Arizona left and never looked back. Two nights was far too much commitment for her.

But with Callie, it felt different. It felt right. So when the doors opened to the fifteenth floor, Arizona didn't hesitate to grab Callie's hand and lead her toward room 1502.

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 **A/N2: Hope y'all liked it. Let me know what y'all are thinking about it so far :) Also hoping to get another update in this week sometime. Just depends on how busy I am at work and such**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: A little bit shorter of a chapter this time. I had a very hard time getting what was in my head down on paper this time, and I think the brevity of this chapter reflects that. Anyway, hope y'all like it!**

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Chapter 12: _Medicine Ball_

Something was off. She couldn't put her finger on it quite yet, but Callie knew something was different. It was taking her longer than normal to come to her senses because the fogginess of her mind was clouding every ounce of logic she was trying to summon. She had been sleeping so well, why was she even awake? _Close your eyes Callie, go back to sleep. Snuggle back up to her and go back to sleep. Wait! Her, who?_ In the pitch-black room, she began recounting the last moment she could remember. _Okay, we got off the elevator, we laid on her bed, Teddy turned the movie on…_

Everything was coming back to her now. She and Arizona had laid on her bed and began watching Molly Ringwald fight for attention on her sixteenth birthday. The next thing she remembers was waking up and being confused as hell. She was still dressed in her jeans and Seahawks t shirt, though she'd stripped her boots off before sliding in close to Arizona. She remembered that her phone had been in her back pocket when they got into the room so she gently lifted her arm from around her sleeping blonde and reached into her pocket. _Thank God, it's still there. Alright what time is it?_

Callie pressed the home button, the screen lighting up nearly the entire room and momentarily blinding her. "3:42", she whispered to herself. Clicking the lock button on her phone and plunging the room back into complete darkness, Callie thought about her next move. She thought about how comfortable she was lying in bed with Arizona. It shocked her a little bit. She'd never spent the night in Erica's room. Callie never wanted to "go public" what she had Erica had in front of Erica's roommate, Olivia. So if they shared a bed together-it was always Callie's bed. Even when Erica had been one of the last three competitors left and had a room to herself, both women still preferred the undoubted privacy of Callie's suite. But this, this budding romance between herself and Arizona, this was different.

Callie shifted her gaze from the ceiling to the sleeping blonde next to her. Arizona's back snuggled in close to her front. Unruly blonde waves were scattered across her face and pillow. Callie listened to Arizona's rhythmic breathing, smiling as she watched wisps of blonde hair flutter with each exhale. The occasional soft snore joined in from across the room where Teddy was sound asleep in the bed next to them. _Arizona was right, she does snore!_

As amazing and wonderful as sleeping in the bed with Arizona was, Callie was worried that it was pushing the envelope of 'taking things slowly'. Reluctantly, and ever so slowly, Callie began extracting herself from the warm bed. Once out of bed and standing beside it, Callie again used her phone to light up the room. She located her boots and slipped them back onto her sock covered feet. Scanning the dark corners of the room, she found her rain jacket draped over the arm of the ergonomic desk chair. With one last look at her blonde, a feeling of regret swept over her. Why did she feel like she was making the wrong decision by leaving? She couldn't stay, that would mean too much, and she just wasn't ready for that yet. Tearing her eyes away from the sleeping beauty that was Arizona Robbins, Callie forced her feet to carry her towards the door, down the hallway, and onto the elevator. When she finally made it to her room, she stripped herself out of her shoes, socks, jeans, and bra, leaving her in only her gray t-shirt. She set the alarm on her phone, dreading having to get back up in a couple hours. Monday was the start of their long and strenuous training week. Callie nestled her head down into the pillow, pulling the covers up around her and drifted off, feeling oddly cold and uncomfortable without the warm body of the blonde next to her.

* * *

The incessant chiming of Teddy's cellphone stirred both women from their slumber. As Teddy reached to the bedside table to snooze the alarm, Arizona reached out to pull Callie in closer to her. But no matter how far Arizona reached, she was never going to find the Latina that had fallen asleep with her. When that realization sank in, Arizona rolled over to face the empty other side of the bed. A wave of sadness immediately consumed Arizona's body. The sheets were cold, meaning Callie must've left a while ago.

Arizona rolled over so that she was now occupying the spot where Callie had been sleeping just hours before. The pillow stilled smelled like her, a mix of coconut and almond-most likely from Callie's fancy shampoo. As she clutched tightly to remnants of her Calliope, Arizona's sadness turned to hurt.

She hadn't felt a feeling similar to this since…Rachel. Arizona could feel the familiar pain rising through the bridge of her nose. She knew that tears were threatening to form. She closed her eyes and tried to will them away by thinking rationally through what she believed must've happened. _Callie realized that this isn't what she wants. She clearly woke up in a less than stellar room, knowing she had heaven upstairs, and she left me. Who would want to slum it down here with the plebeians? Callie is too good for me. She thinks that I'm not worthy of staying with overnight._ When the tears that had been building squeaked out of shut eyelids, something in Arizona snapped.

Hurt was then transformed into anger and rage. Arizona threw the covers off of her with so much force that she effectively stripped her bed in one abrupt motion. Sitting up from Callie's side of the bed with purpose, Arizona couldn't keep her emotions in check. When she again heard Teddy's phone blaring on the nightstand, she couldn't help the harsh words that left her mouth. "Teddy shut your fucking alarm up, and get out of bed. Breakfast is over in 10 minutes and we need to be at the bus in 25."

Lunchtime couldn't get there soon enough for Arizona. Her foul mood was still kicking and showed no signs of going anywhere anytime soon. But why should it? Callie ditched her, for what? Because she wasn't good enough, rich enough, _worthy_ enough? Arizona made sure to avoid Callie at all cost during morning workouts. Thankfully it was large group training, so there wouldn't be any direct interaction, and if she needed to consult with a trainer there was always Bailey.

That didn't stop Callie from trying to catch the blonde's attention throughout the morning, though. Callie did everything in her power to make eye contact with Arizona, to try and give her a sexy little wink or smile. However, every attempt she made was met with either a roll of blue eyes or flat out ignorance towards her efforts.

Teddy had tried to pry into Arizona's thoughts first on the bus ride to the gym and then again later while they were partnered up for jump rope drills, but was met with a concrete wall of anger both times. Teddy had an inkling of what might be upsetting her friend, but she didn't want to presume anything without first talking to Arizona.

When they finally broke for lunch, Arizona was the first one out the gym doors and onto the bus. She couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and into her room. She was hurt, embarrassed, and still so angry. First Callie had left her and then Teddy was trying to play twenty questions with her. Was she not allowed to have a bad day without being pelted with questions? Finally in the confines of her room, a plate full of re-nourishment resting on her lap, Arizona allowed herself quietly express the feelings she had been holding in all morning.

"How the hell could she do this to me? You know what? Screw her and screw Teddy. I swear to God if she asks me 'what's wrong' one more time, I'm going to lose my shit." And as if on cue, Arizona heard the sound of card being swiped in the door, and a handle being turned. Teddy was entering the room with a plate full of bagels, hard-boiled eggs, Ritz crackers and peanut butter.

"Carb up much?" the disdain in Arizona's voice still perfectly clear.

Teddy, taken aback by the volatile tone of her friend's voice tried to formulate an appropriate, yet equally as forceful response. "Uh, yea. I was hungry. Some of us actually worked out this morning instead of just pouting."

Right then, Arizona realized the error in her ways. Teddy hadn't done anything wrong. Teddy hadn't been the one to leave her in the middle of the night. All Teddy was trying to was to be a supportive friend. And in that moment, Arizona decided that she would forever let Teddy in. "She left me," a whisper barely leaving the blonde's lips.

* * *

The rest of the day went by with just as much tension as the morning. Arizona had avoided Callie at all costs. She was even was able to secure a spot training with Bailey for the rest of the week. Sure, she had to offer Little Grey $100 to trade with her just in case she ended up on Callie's rotation, but that seemed like a decent price to pay just to know she wouldn't have to come face-to-face with woman who was currently haunting her dreams.

Because that's what Callie was doing. Every time Arizona closed her eyes, all she was that gorgeous brunette. There wasn't anything the blonde wouldn't do to prove that she was all in for the Latina. At the same time, Arizona felt as though she would never be able to show Callie that she was worth the risk. That just because she didn't have to money or notoriety to her name, she would do anything to make sure Callie got to live a happy and plentiful life.

The rest of the week slowly rolled through. The tension in the group of women was nearly tangible. What had started between just Callie and Arizona had quickly spread to the rest of the group. Thankfully the other competitors hadn't realized where, or who the hostility was stemming from. What they could tell was that animosity was present, and for that reason the women kept to themselves as much as possible.

On Wednesday, during small group workouts, Arizona found herself partnered with Addison, Lexie, and Cristina. Looking across the gym floor, she saw that Teddy's group had Meredith, Izzy, and April, and it looked like Callie was gravitating towards that group. _Thank God, that means I get Bailey. I don't think she likes me too much, but anything would be better than being stuck with Callie all morning._

Miranda Bailey approached her small group of female fighters. "Partner up," she dictated. "I know something's going on in this group. I don't care who started it, I don't care who finishes it, what I do care is that it does not get in the way of our training." Bailey meant business and she wasn't going to sit back and allow these fighters to squander away valuable learning opportunities just because of rift in the group. Little did she know that the rift was being caused by none other than her co-worker.

"Alright. Once you have your partner, one of you needs to go grab a ten pound medicine ball. We are going to do some muscle strengthening today. First we will work with partners, then we'll switch it up to some individual work. Yang, why are we using medicine balls instead of free weights?" Bailey loved spit rapid-fire questions to the women before beginning workouts. Everyone except for Arizona found it pointless, but she liked learning the reason behind their workouts instead of just being told to do them.

"Because medicine balls allow for workouts just as partner tossing and a variety of other full body workouts without having to worry about being hit in the face with a dumbbell or weird shaped weight thing." Cristina deadpanned. She could always be counted on to supply the correct answer, but hated regurgitating what she deemed to be 'useless' information.

"Good, thank you Yang." Bailey nodded in approval of Cristina's lackluster, but correct answer. Turning on her heels to now face the group of four women under her direction today, Bailey continued, "Now, for the next hour and a half I want you and your partner doing alternating reps of of 20 sit ups. Whoever decides to go first will lay down in the sit up position while holding the medicine ball to your chest. Your partner will be standing about five feet away from you and when you rise to complete your first sit up, you will toss the ten pound ball to your partner. Partners, it is your job to catch the ball, do a squat-that means straight spine, no slouching! Then you will toss the ball back to your partner when they rise back up completing their second sit up. Any questions?"

When all four women shook their heads indicating that they understood their trainer's instructions, Bailey instructed them to get started and not let up. Even when their muscles were threatening to burn through their skin, they were to keep going.

Arizona had quickly hit up Lexie to be her partner. The two already had a pretty decent friendship going given the fact that Arizona had bribed the smaller woman to trade places with her if Callie ever decided to confront the blonde. Between the two of them, Arizona decided she would start doing the sit-ups and Lexie would be doing squats. The first couple of reps went by easily. Both women felt that medicine ball was too light for this kind of workout and those 20 sit-ups at a time just weren't enough. Fast-forward forty-five minutes, Lexie Grey could barely lift her arms, let alone the 10 pound ball. Arizona was struggling, but her mental toughness and the anger she had towards Callie were fueling her to keep going.

With fifteen minutes left in before their first break, Arizona watched her partner pass out in exhaustion. Jumping up from her sit-up position, she rushed to Lexie's side with Bailey meeting her there. "Lex! Lexie, wake up!" Arizona urged, her voice staying calm but inside she was concerned for her new friend. She took the palm of her hand and ever-so-gently slapped Lexie's face, encouraging her to wake up. In the mean time, Bailey took a water bottle and splashed a few drops onto Lexie's face. That seemed to do the trick as the two women watched from a kneeling position as the body below them started to come to.

"You okay little one?" the endearment in Bailey's voice was clear as day.

Taking a few moments to gather her wits, Lexie slowly sat up and replied "Yea, yea. I think I'm good. Um, could I have some water?"

With Lexie moved to a bench and both trainers checking her over, Arizona scanned the gym in search of how she could continue her workout. Finding a vertical trampoline in the corner, Arizona drug it over to where she had previously been working with Lexie. As she worked to get the trampoline set up at an appropriate distance, she could feel eyes on her. Nonchalantly looking around to find the source of the stare, Arizona locked eyes with warm, brown ones. All Arizona could see was Callie. She momentarily got lost in the comfortable chocolate orbs that she missed terribly. But just as she began getting sucked in, Arizona remembered why she had been avoiding the brunette to begin with and she quickly snapped her eyes away and back to the task at hand.

* * *

"You know what, Torres? I am sick to death of this crap going on between the women. I thought for sure Mark had gotten through to them with that speech of his, but…" Bailey just shook her head in defeat, unable to find the words to finish the sentence. Another two days had gone by and they hadn't seen any change in the demeanor of the women. If anything, things seem to be getting worse. "I mean, what is going on? I've never felt a group be so _icy_ towards each other. Especially that Robbins girl, she's given just about everyone the cold shoulder. But I also can't deny she's the hardest working."

"I can't deny that. I've never seen someone work so hard in the beginning before. Usually it takes them getting to the elimination part of the program before they really start to work out. But Arizona? She gives 110% every day." Callie couldn't deny that the blonde was leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the women here. She'd never seen someone be so dedicated to the challenge, but she'd also never seen someone shut themselves off so much either.

For the life of her, Callie could not figure out what was bothering Arizona. She'd tried to corner Arizona many times since they arrived at the gym Monday morning, but Arizona had evaded each one of her attempts. First Arizona just told her nothing was wrong, but Callie could see it in eyes that Arizona was full of it. Then things got even more bizarre when it flat out seemed like the blonde was avoiding her. Callie had specifically requested Arizona for daily reviews this week, and was unpleasantly surprised to see Lexie Grey instead of her sexy blonde. Now it seemed as though Arizona had a grudge out against every woman in the gym, and it boggled the trainers' minds.

With Friday evening coming to an end, Callie crawled into her bed and snuggled under her plush down comforter. Another challenge day awaited both her and the competitors tomorrow. Callie held out hope that Arizona would win again and ask her out on another date. Closing her eyes and sending up a silent prayer, Callie drifted off to the vision of her and Arizona enjoying another steak dinner together.

* * *

 **AN2: So Callie has yet to put it together that Arizona is upset with her for leaving in the middle of the night. Think she'll figure it out on her own or will someone have to step in and show her the light? Also, do you think Arizona has a right to be upset?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: So I know it seems like Callie is being dumb by not realizing that what she did upset Arizona. However, it was my intention to write it that way because I wanted to and I think/hope after this chapter you'll see why. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13: _The Roof_

For the second week in a row, Arizona Robbins owned the gym challenge. She had sat with her back up against a wall, knees bent at a perfect 90 degrees for a full seven minutes. Most of the other women fell out of their wall sit around the three minute mark. Yang had made it five minutes, but collapsed not long after that time call was made. Arizona could've collapsed after watching Yang fall, but she kept going. She wanted to prove to herself that she could outlast not only the rest of the women, but that she had the mental strength to push herself after having such a tumultuous week.

Every other competitor and every trainer watched in awe as Arizona sat against the wall. Even most of the men had given in before Arizona. Only Karev, Avery, and DeLuca were left when Arizona finally gave into her searing quad muscles. After another four minutes, Avery was the last man standing-err…rather squatting. Derek, the appointed head trainer of the group of four congratulated Arizona and Jackson for their victories and awarded them another dinner at Oak Steakhouse. Jackson immediately found April and asked her to dinner. Arizona on the other hand sought out Derek, needing to ask him a pertinent question about her reservation.

"Umm, hey Derek?" she hesitantly addressed the man with flawless hair and even better smile.

Derek grinned as the blonde approached him. "Hey Robbins, what's up?"

There was really no need to beat around the bush here, Arizona was sure of her decision and was sure about what she needed to ask Derek. "So, I know I won the challenge today and I know that means I get dinner at Oak, but I-I don't want it. Can I forfeit my reservation and give it to Yang instead?"

Completely taken aback by Arizona's request, Derek had to take a moment to process the blonde's request. No one had ever asked to _not_ go on their prized steak dinner date. "Arizona, are you sure you don't want your reservations?" Derek asked, still dumbfounded by what she was asking.

"I'm positive. Cristina came in second, so give the dinner to her. Thanks Derek, I appreciate it." Arizona retreated to the locker room to shower and change after confirming that she would not be using tonight's reservation for her and Callie.

Callie watched with curiosity as Arizona approached Derek after winning her second challenge. As she observed the exchange, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealous surge through her as Derek nodded and agreed to whatever the blonde was asking.

 _There's no way she just asked him on a date. Everyone knows that Derek has been playing Addison and Meredith…he wouldn't throw a third woman into that mix, would he? And Arizona wouldn't really want to go dinner with Derek, would she? No, she's gay! She told me she'd never had one ounce of attraction to men, not ever! So what the hell is going on here?_ Callie wasn't ready to accept Arizona talking to someone else. She didn't want for the blonde, her blonde, to be interested in someone else.

As the rest of the afternoon came and went, Callie received no invitation to dinner. Not that she was expecting another grand gesture from Arizona, but she still held out hope that she would be joining the blonde later that night.

Callie was pacing her front hallway. Her phone was clenched in her right hand while she chewed the tips of her manicured fingers. If she didn't figure this out soon, she wasn't going to have any more nails. Callie stared down at Arizona's contact information, but she was hesitant to make the call. What would she say? She didn't really know. And was this a conversation she even wanted to have over the phone? _No, we need to talk to face-to-face. I like her, like really like her and she deserves more than a phone call._ As she came to that decision-the right decision-Callie couldn't help but think that this fissure in their newly formed relationship was her fault. She wasn't quite sure, but all the sudden it dawned on her that maybe she said or done something to cause Arizona's weeklong iciness.

It was just after 7, depending on what time her reservation had been for Arizona would either be ordering her appetizer or diving into her filet. Callie slung the door of the front closet open and grabbed her black North Face jacket and rushed out the front door. When she reached to sidewalk Pete, the doorman, pleasantly greeted her. "Evenin' Ms. Torres. Anything I can do for you?"

Flustered but retaining politeness that had been engrained in her, Callie returned the greeting. "Hello Pete, and yes there is something you can do. I need a cab to Oak Steakhouse as quick as possible."

A simple nod of understanding was all Callie got in return. She watched as Pete scampered from his post near the front door to the edge of the sidewalk where he damn near jumped in front of a passing cab in order to hail it for the heiress. Appreciative, but worried for his safety Callie approached him as he opened the door for her. "Thank you Pete, and I know my father pays you extra to take good care of me, but please take care of yourself too. No more risking your safety for me, okay?"

There was a slight blush to his fair cheeks, but Pete knew that Callie was only looking out for his well being. "Yes ma'am, of course. I apologize for worrying you. Where're you headed? I will inform the driver."

A few minutes later, Callie was striding through the front door of Oak Steakhouse. She breezed right past the host stand on her way in, not bothering to stop and answer his demands of who she was and if she was looking for someone. _Obviously I am looking for someone,_ she thought to herself. However, she couldn't find Arizona. The only people she recognized was Avery and Kepner. _What the hell. Where is she?_ Scanning the dinning room one last time, Callie recognized another face. Cristina Yang.

"Yang, what're you doing here?" Callie demanded as she approached the two top table that held not only Cristina but also Owen Hunt. These were not the people she was expecting see having dinner. Every bone in her body thought that she would be intruding on Arizona and Derek sharing a bottle of wine. So while she was relieved that her blonde wasn't exploring her options, she was awfully confused as to why Yang was sitting in front of her.

"Well, hello to you too Torres. As you can see I am on a date with Owen and we are enjoying a free steak dinner." Cristina's tone was infused with annoyance at the unwelcome interruption from the trainer.

Okay so maybe she hadn't handled that confrontation the right way. Callie shifted on her feet and decided to take a different approach with the young, agile fighter. "Sorry, Cristina. It's just been a rough week. I was just wondering how you got this dinner date. Didn't Arizona win the challenge today? Shouldn't she be here having dinner?"

Cristina's mind starting working when she realized that Callie was only there in search of the blonde. "You like her, don't you?" Callie was smart enough to answer her.

"You like her and you wanted to interrupt her dinner because she didn't ask you on the date." Yang was hitting the nail on the head, but Callie just stared at her with a blank expression. "Wait, didn't she ask you on the date last week? Ahhhh!" Callie watched the metaphoric light bulb click on above Cristina's head. "You two went on a date last week and then she avoided you like the plague this week. Callie what did you do?" Cristina was on the edge of her seat after unraveling the web of what had transpired between the two women.

Callie could no longer hide her disappointment, it was written all over her face. "I-I don't know. Do you know where she is?"

Cristina went from the edge of her seat to leaning against the back when she saw the emotion in Callie's eyes. "No Callie, I'm sorry I don't." Her apology was genuine and Callie could tell. "All I know is that Derek came up to me not long after the challenge and told me that Arizona forfeited her reservation so it went to the second place finisher. I'm sorry, I wish I knew more for ya." Cristina dismissed Callie with that and went back to enjoying her free dinner.

Callie retreated out of the restaurant and tried to figure out where she should go in search of Arizona next. As she mulled over all the places Arizona could be, Callie's feet led her back to the hotel. Before she knew it she was walking down the hall of the fifteenth floor. Her mind absently leading her to the room of the woman she so desperately wanted to find. A soft knock on the door was all she could muster. _Please answer, please answer, please answer._

When she heard the lock on the other side of the door turn, Callie felt her stomach roll with nerves. However, when the door to room 1502 opened she was greeted by a different blonde, a blonde who had tears in her eyes. "Teddy? Are you okay?" Callie compassionately asked. Though she'd only spent a little bit of time with Teddy, she was quite fond of her. They had had a great time bonding at the food truck rally and then Teddy really won her over when she was more than happy to have Callie accompany Arizona back to the room for a movie.

Wiping the corners of her eyes, Teddy offered a small smile because even though she was over the moon happy at the moment, she was still staring into the eyes of the woman who had hurt her best friend. "Yea, I'm good. Happy tears, I promise. What's up Callie, what can I do for you?"

"Umm," Callie hesitated. "I was wondering if Arizona was here, I'd really like to talk to her."

Teddy exhaled loudly, she knew that Callie would show up at their door eventually. And she knew that she would be faced with having to decide if she should inform Callie of the error in her ways or if she should let the Latina figure it out on her own. Which, at this point, didn't seem likely since it had been nearly a week and no progress had been made. "She's not here, Callie. I actually don't know where she is. She left here about forty-five minutes ago saying something about needing to 'de-stress up top'"

"Up top?" Callie repeated with inflection.

"She's on the roof, Callie." Teddy spit out in frustration. The woman in front of her was gorgeous. Straight or not, Teddy couldn't deny that Callie was good looking, but damn if she wasn't being blind to the issue. As she watched Callie turn and hurriedly make her way to the stairwell-the only way to get to the roof access door was through the stairwell-Teddy decided it was time for her to step in and show Callie the light. "Callie, wait!" she exclaimed before the brunette could disappear into the tunnel of stairs.

Callie spun on her heels and marched back down the hall where she met Teddy halfway. "Yea?" she asked the honey blonde.

"Do you have any idea why Arizona has been acting out all week? Why she paid Lexie to switch trainers with her so that you got Lexie for nightly review instead of her?"

Callie just stared dumbfounded at the reveal that she had been duped by Arizona. "I didn't know she did that…" she confessed.

Teddy's face softened, it was clear that Callie truly had no clue as to what was going on with Arizona. "Callie, you left."

Callie scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. Opening her mouth to speak, but the closing it again when she realized she didn't have anything to say. As she sat in silence and tried to process what Teddy had revealed, she watched as the woman across from her began to get impatient at her inability to put the pieces together.

"Oh for god sakes Callie." Teddy was exasperated. She just wanted Callie and Arizona together. They were adorable together and even in the short amount of time Teddy had spent with the two, she could see that there was something very real between them. "You fell asleep in her bed, all snuggled up and looking adorable I might add. But then she woke up and you were gone, without a word…you were just gone. What is she suppose to think after that? Because I'll tell you if you can't figure it out."

Shame. That was all she could feel. How the hell had she not figured this out? Was she really that oblivious to what was going on? No, Callie was smart. She had just been afraid. She let her fears blind her to the reality of the situation. She was so scared to repeat what happened with Erica, so consumed with not letting things move to quickly that she let herself hurt the most beautiful and caring person she had ever met. She had to fix this, immediately. "I can't believe I was such an idiot…" Callie barely whispered. "I bet she feels like she's not good enough, right? She feels like she's not worth my time?"

All Teddy had to do was nod. It seems as though all Callie needed was a little push in the right direction and she was able to put all the puzzle pieces together. Callie thanked her with a brief hug and assured her that she was going to fix it with Arizona. Then Teddy watched as she this time allowed Callie through the stairwell door and up to the roof.

Callie took the stairs two at time, her training as a boxer coming in handy as she had to scale fifteen and a half flights of stairs (fifteen up to the thirtieth floor and then another half level to the roof). As she approached the door marked 'Roof Access', Callie took a very deep and steadying breath. This was not going to be an easy conversation to have, and by no means was she looking forward to it, but if she wanted Arizona back she was going to have to face the music.

Once out on the roof, it didn't take long to spot Arizona, as her blonde hair was gently whipped by the warm night breeze. Callie sat and watched for moment, not having to worry about being spotted because Arizona's back was to her. Callie couldn't help but think how incredibly lucky she was to have even met someone as genuinely beautiful as Arizona.

Callie approached the blonde, making herself known by walking with a purpose on the gravel surface of the roof. She didn't want to startle Arizona so she made sure to announce her presence in another way. When she saw Arizona turn to see her, there was shock and-was that happiness expressed on her face? It may have been, but it was quickly replaced by fury and hurt. Arizona went to open her mouth and presumably tell Callie to leave her alone, but before she could say a word, Callie cut her off.

"Arizona, wait. Before you tell me to go, before you tell me to leave you alone, just let me say something. Okay?" When she got no verbal response from the blonde but could see passion in her eyes, Callie went on with the speech she had rehearsed while climbing the stairs. "I get it now, I know why you're upset-"

"Do you? Do you Callie? Because I don't think you do. I've been upset all week and you haven't as much as pretended to be concerned about me being upset." Arizona spit out.

Callie's eyes sank to look at the unappealing gravel she stood on. Arizona was right, she had not made an effort to figure the blonde out all week. For that she would forever be sorry, but right now it was about making it right with her. Showing her that she knew she made a mistake in leaving and to find someway to make it up to her. "I know, Arizona I was wrong. And what's worse is that I had no idea that what I had done was wrong. I was so focused on taking things slow and not making mistakes like I did with Erica. But what I failed to realize was that you're not like Erica and what I am feeling for you isn't like what I felt for Erica. This is stronger and much more meaningful that what I had with Erica. And I am so thankful for that because you are leaps and bounds better than she ever was. You are more amazing than she could ever hope to be. Arizona, I can't even begin to find enough words to tell you that I am sorry. I never, ever meant to hurt you. I never meant for you to think that you aren't enough for me, because you are more than enough. I feel so lucky to even be here groveling at your feet because I don't deserve you. If you give me another chance, Arizona, I swear to you that I will never make you feel this way again. I will never make you feel like less than you are. Let me prove that, please. Allow me to start over, allow me to try again and treat you the way you should be treated-with all the respect in the world and all the honesty and openness. Please?"

* * *

 **AN3: I know, I'm the worst leaving it on a cliffhanger... next chapter will be out as soon as I get it written :) Hope y'all are still enjoying it!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: I know I left y'all hanging on the last chapter so I tried to spit this one out as quick as I could. Lucky for y'all we had a horrible thunderstorm roll through that knocked the power out so I all I could to was write. Yay for you!**

 **AN2: Also, I don't know much about medical things other than the two anatomy classes I took back in college, so everything concerning medical jargon and whatnot in this chapter is simply made up from my creative(ish) mind.**

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Chapter 14: _Henry_

Arizona stood facing Callie who had just poured her heart out in an apology. It was heartfelt and meaningful, Arizona could tell that much just by the tone of voice Callie had spoken in. She was truly sorry for her wrongdoing and later ignorance to the problem, but could Arizona forgive her for that. She'd spent nearly a week boiling with anger and hurt towards the Latina. She'd spent nearly a week waiting for her to realize what she'd done wrong. Was it too long? Could she move past it?

The dead air between them proved to intensify the uneasy feeling. Arizona's light cobalt eyes brimmed with tears as she locked onto the chocolate orbs across from her. She was searching for any hesitance, for any doubts, for any deceit, but she found none. Instead all she found was honesty, compassion, sorrow, and love? No, that couldn't be what Callie was trying to convey, could it? Sure, she had developed strong feelings rather quickly for the stunningly beautiful and down to earth woman who stood before her, but to see love that soon? _I guess it's possible,_ she thought to herself.

"Calliope, why did you leave? And on top of that why did you leave without saying goodbye? It was like you were ashamed or embarrassed for falling asleep with me. When I woke up and you were gone, I felt cheap. Like I wasn't good enough for you to spend time with, like I wasn't enough for you to want to stay." The tears that had surfaced moments ago began to slowly trek down her cheeks. Before she could try and forgive Callie, she needed answers. She needed to know why she was deserted in the middle of the night.

Callie took a cautious step toward the blonde, but Arizona mirrored her actions and took a step back herself, effectively keeping the same distance between them. "Please don't back away from me Arizona, I am here to apologize. I'm here to get you back, to show you that I am all in, just like you."

In firm voice that she found somewhere within her Arizona repeated herself "Callie I need to know why you left. I can't even begin to forgive you until I understand why you left me. We had had an amazing day together. I really, honestly thought we had crossed a bridge in our relationship that day. Learning about each other, getting slightly steamy in the stadium, curling up and watching a movie together. Hell, falling asleep in your arms felt like the most natural thing in the world. And then I wake up and you're GONE. What the hell! Tell me why you left!"

"I was scared, Arizona. Is that what you want to hear?" Callie questioned honestly.

"Scared? Scared of what? That I would take advantage of you after I agreed to take things slowly?"

Callie lowered her head shaking it back and forth as her gaze went from the blonde to the gravel beneath her feet. "No, I was scared because I'm…I'm… Arizona, I was scared because I'm falling for you."

Arizona's eyed widened at Callie's admission. _So that was love I saw in her eyes_. "You're falling for me?" she asked quizzically.

Lifting her head and eyes back towards Arizona, Callie nodded her head. "Yes, Arizona, I am. I'm falling fast and hard for you and it scares me because I've never felt this way about anyone in my life. The last person to even come close to this feeling was Erica and she damn near killed me when she took off out of the parking lot and out of my life. What if you lose in the competition? What if you leave me like she did? Arizona, I can't even imagine the thought of not having you here, not having you in my life…" Callie's words trailed off as she shuddered at the thought of not having the beautiful blonde living in her hotel.

Now it was Arizona's turn to take a step forward. As she got closer to the brunette she could see small tears running down and heard muffled sniffles coming from her. "Look at me," she softly demanded, but Callie refused to meet Arizona's gaze. "Calliope," Arizona again requested.

This time Callie looked up and saw the most beautiful set of cerulean eyes peering into her soul. Callie could read her like a book in the moment. Seeing nothing but forgiveness, caring, and definitely the returned feeling of love. Even if Arizona wasn't ready to say it yet, Callie could see it in her eyes. They were both falling for each other and the thought caused Callie's heart to skip a couple beats.

Once she had the brunettes devoted attention, Arizona went on "Calliope, thank you for opening up to me and explaining why you left. While it still hurts that you disappeared on me, I understand now and I forgive you." Callie visibly relaxed upon hearing those sweet words: _I forgive you_. They were almost as sweet as the other three words she couldn't wait to hear. "Calliope, I think I am falling for you too, and I get why it's scary. No body wants to get hurt, nobody wants to put their heart out there just to have thrown into a blender. But I'm not going to do that Calliope, do you know why?" Callie just shook her head. The two women were now standing near nose-to-nose, hands holding and fingers interlaced. "I'm not going to do that because this feels so right that I can't imagine being with anyone else. I can't imagine falling asleep with anyone else. I don't know what it is, but from the moment I saw you walk into that orientation meeting, it's like my world stopped. I knew right then and there, that you were it for me. And for it's for that reason that I am able to forgive you. I know you're not going to hurt me again because I think you now realize it too." Callie nodded in agreement. "And if it's okay with you, I'd really like to kiss you now?"

"Plea-" but before Callie could finish giving Arizona the okay, she was cut off by two of the most perfect lips finding hers. What started off as a chaste kiss, quickly heated up. Arizona needed to feel Callie, she needed confirmation that what Callie said was the God's honest truth. So she ever so slowly slipped her tongue out and grazed Callie's bottom lip. Callie instantly allowed Arizona entrance and she took full advantage. Thrusting her tongue into Callie's warm and waiting mouth. The two women were now locked in loving embrace, hands groping and grabbing, finally Callie's settled on Arizona's slim hips pulling her into her body. Arizona's hand found refuge around Callie's neck, winding her fingers throughout Callie's soft and luscious locks.

Neither woman knew how long they'd been up there, and truth be told, neither of them cared. They were having their moment and that's all that mattered. They allowed their tongues to explore, learning every inch of their lover's mouths. Arizona finally broke the kiss but not before grabbing Callie's plump bottom lip between her teeth, gently biting and releasing it with a seductive 'pop'. Callie involuntarily let out a quiet moan, which Arizona quickly picked up. "Hmm, someone likes it a little rough?" She asked with a sly grin. Her eyes were nearly five shades darker than when Callie found her on the roof, something Callie instantly picked up on.

"I know we talked about the whole 'taking it slow thing', but after tonight, after this talk…I think we need to revise the rules." Callie really wanted to be on the same page with Arizona when it came to how quickly or slowly things progressed between them. When Arizona didn't retreat from her embrace, Callie took that as a sign to continue with her thoughts. "I think we need to just go with what we feel is right. If we want to kiss and make out, then we'll do it. If we want to touch and feel and grope and get better acquainted with each other bodies, then I say we do it." Callie lowered her voice to almost a sexy growl, "And if I want to fuck your brains on the mat of the boxing ring, then I will do just that." Again Arizona's eyes widened and shiver of ecstasy surged down her spine and touched all of her tingly places.

"Okay, yea I'm – uh yea – I'm totally fine with the revised rules" was all she was able to say with a throat that had instantly gone bone dry.

"Well in that case, I say we get off this roof and into my room. I'd say we go to yours because I have no problem with being there, but when I saw Teddy she was crying and I think it would be rude of us to intrude if she's having a bad day. So, my room?" Callie hopefully asked her blonde bombshell.

Arizona had frozen, she couldn't even process an answer to Callie's question because she was too caught up on something else the Latina had mentioned. "Wait did you say Teddy was crying?" _Please tell me I heard her wrong._

Callie turned her head in confusion. _After everything I just said that's all she got out of my request?_ "Uh, yea. I went to your room looking for you and Teddy answered the door crying. Why?"

Her worst fear for roommate could be coming true. "Shit! C'mon we have to go to my room!" She loosened her grip on Callie's neck and reached down to grab her hand, pulling her towards the stairwell door. However, Callie was not budging and Arizona was jerked backwards, nearly breaking contact with the brunette's fingers. "Callie, what the hell? We have to go check on Teddy?"

"Teddy?" she asked, perceptibly upset that Arizona's focus was on her roommate instead of her. "Arizona, why the hell do we have to check on Teddy when I just told you that I can't wait to have you naked and in my bed?" Callie literally shouted from the rooftop.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Arizona repositioned herself so that she was standing right in front of Callie. She reached out and took her other hand in her own and looked up to meet the warm, yet slightly pissed off, hazel eyes she was falling in love with. "We have to check on Teddy because her boyfriend, Henry, was recently in a terrible car accident. Someone who wasn't paying attention while driving hit him head on. He has been in a coma for nearly two weeks. He was suppose to have woken up by now, so if Teddy's crying…" Arizona couldn't finish the sentence out of fear.

Callie knew what the blonde was going to say and immediately pulled her in for a comforting hug. She understood now, she knew why they needed to see Teddy. Sex – or whatever was going to happen between them – could wait. Arizona needed to be there for her friend. "Come on, let's go see Teddy."

* * *

The women walked down the hallway hand in hand, the last week of turmoil between them was finally in the past. They were in a better place, more sure of their feelings now that they were all out in the open. There was no need to pump the brakes if they were both all in.

Approaching her door, Arizona slipped her room key out of her back pocket and slid it through the card reader. When the light blinked green, she pushed the handle down and proceeded over the threshold pulling Callie along with her. What she saw instantly scared her. Teddy was rambling on the phone, with a tissue in her hand occasionally dabbing the corners of her eyes.

When Teddy realized that she had guests in the room, she held up her index finger indicating that she needed just another minute on the phone before she addressed them. "Okay, okay, yes I understand." Sniffle. "Sheila?...Tell him I love him. He needs to know that I love him. Before anything else happens, he needs to know I love him, okay?" Teddy waited for her answer and said her goodbyes. Turning to face Arizona and Callie, she wiped her eyes one last time and sniffled up the last bit crying.

Arizona immediately enveloped her in a tight, trying to stifle tears of her own. She couldn't cry. Teddy needed her to be strong, and it was time for her to be the good man in a storm and be what Teddy needed. "Oh Teds, I'm so sorry. Can I do anything, do you want me to go to Webber and talk to him? Tell him you'll need a couple days off?"

Teddy retreated from the hug and gave Arizona a puzzled look. "Why would you need to go to Webber? I don't need any time off. And what are you sorry for?"

It was now time for Arizona to be completely puzzled. "Callie said that when she came here looking for me that you were crying, and I know you hadn't received news about Henry yet…so I rushed down here to comfort you because I know how hard it can be."

A wide smile now graced Teddy's face. Oh how she loved the fact that Arizona was so willing and ready to be her rock. A rock that she didn't need, however.

"What's so funny?" Arizona demanded to know why her roommate was now giggling at her attempt to comfort her in what she thought was a time of need.

"What's funny is that I told Callie they were happy tears, not sad tears." Looking directly at Callie, Teddy inquired "Did you forget to mention that to our lovely Arizona here?"

Callie lowered her head. Yup, she had totally forgot that minor, okay major, detail when explaining the situation to Arizona. _Oops, my bad_.

"So wait, those were happy tears? Happy tears means…ahh Teddy! He's awake?" Excitement oozed out of Arizona words.

Teddy reached out and grabbed Arizona's hands as she started bouncing and jumping like a school girl. "Yes! He's awake! Sheila called me about two hours ago and told me that Henry's vitals were coming up and that the doctors were going to take his breathing tube. As they starting taking off all his equipment, he opened his eyes and started coughing. Apparently that's a sure sign or something. But the most important thing is he's awake! What you heard was me telling Sheila to tell him 'I love him' before he goes through the millions of test he has to endure. They have to check is brain, make sure there's no lingering effects or whatever."

Arizona and Callie had massive smiles on their faces. They were so happy for their friend. So happy that she still had her person. In that moment, Arizona knew that Callie was her person, and without hesitation she released Teddy's hands giving her an assuring and happy smile and then turned to Callie. "Callie, I lo-"

"Arizona, don't." she abruptly interrupted the blonde's near confession. "I know you want to say it right now because I want to say it too, but don't you think we're feeling extra emotional because of the situation?" Arizona didn't want to admit, but maybe Callie had a point. "Arizona, I want it to be special when we say it. I want it to be a moment between us and us only…no offense Teddy." Teddy just nodded, knowing that Callie meant no harm by her comment. "So let's wait on that. Let's wait until we both know for sure and not just because of an emotionally charged evening, okay?"

"Okay." Arizona knew that Callie was absolutely correct. Those feelings may be there for real, but they deserved a special moment. Something that was uniquely them and not influenced by someone else's joy and love.

* * *

The three women remained in Arizona and Teddy's room talking about Henry's recovery process and the long road he had ahead of him. Some of his muscles had begun to atrophy after being in bed for so long. He'd be in extensive physical therapy as well as some occupational therapy to help him re-learn to do some basic tasks like brushing his teeth and buttoning his shirts. Another call from Sheila revealed that his brain showed some residual trauma, but it was nothing to be concerned about. His doctors were confident that after therapy, Henry's brain would be able to re-wire itself, neurons would make new connections and he would be able to get back to himself in no time at all.

It was nearing midnight and the conversation between the women was beginning to dwindle. Even though tomorrow was their day off, a goodnight sleep sounded fantastic to all three of them. As Teddy began getting herself ready for bed, Arizona looked to Callie who looked as though she waging an internal war over an unasked question. "Calliope, will you stay the night with me?" Arizona asked, almost begging.

As the question was posed, the battle raging inside Callie's mind of whether she should ask to stay or get up and leave, immediately ceased. Arizona wanted her there and she was more than willing to make that happen. "Of course, I'll stay pretty. And before you ask, I promise I won't leave you again." A little reassuring never hurt anyone.

Arizona leaned in for a peck on the lips before stating, "Thank you for saying that, I wasn't going to say anything, but you knew I must've been thinking it." Another kiss to Callie's waiting lips and then Arizona hopped off the bed and wandered over to her dresser. "I should have an extra pair of sleep shorts for you, are you good to sleep in the t-shirt you have on or do you want one of mine?"

Callie thought about it for a moment. Yes, she could sleep in hers and have Arizona cuddled up around her, but to have Arizona's shirt on and her body wrapped up in her…well that just sounded even better. "Can I wear one of yours?" she asked shyly.

"Of course you can, Calliope. I'd give you the world if you asked for it." Reaching in the drawer, Arizona was thankful that she had stayed up late Friday night finishing her three loads of laundry. She grabbed two pair of boxer shorts, and two t-shirts from the drawer. One was her typical Marine Corps shirt, the other an oversized University of Virginia t-shirt she'd bought on a whim. "Which shirt do you want?"

Callie had to seriously ponder which one to pick. Of course she wanted the Marine Corps shirt, that was Arizona's legacy, but that also meant that she would want to wear it. But before she could answer, Arizona tossed the faded grey USMC in her direction. "I know you want to wear this one babe, so it's yours." She gave Callie and wink and then retreated to the bathroom that Teddy had just vacated to change and get herself ready for bed.

With all three women in their PJ's and settled down into bed, Teddy reached over and cut the light out, plunging the room into darkness. Arizona was facing Callie in bed, she could just barely make out the whites of Callie's big, beautiful eyes. Arizona reached her arm out and wrapped it around Callie's waist, pulling her impossibly closer. "You're going to be here when I wake up, right?" she nervously whispered to her lover.

Sensing the unease and uncertainty still in Arizona's voice, Callie replied adamantly "Arizona, I promise you I will be here all night long and all morning if you'll have me. I never want to leave this bed without you again. That I am sure of." And just for good measure, Callie closed the short distance between their lips and sealed her promise with a passionate and loving kiss. Only breaking when her lungs burned for air.

Out of breathe but completely relieved to have heard Callie say it again, Arizona was content to call it a night. "I believe you. Goodnight, Calliope. Sweet dreams."

Her heart bursting with happiness, Callie closed her eyes and before succumbing to the sleep that beckoned her she whispered, "Goodnight, Arizona. I'll see you in the morning beautiful." And with that she and Arizona gave into their sleepiness and dozed off dreaming of each other and the future that they were bound to share together.

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 **AN3: I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I felt like a change in pace for their relationship was necessary because we are starting to get into the double digit chapters and there hasn't been any sexy times yet. They are coming, I promise! Feedback always welcome and greatly appreciated!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: It's the moment that you've all been waiting for...well probably most of you. That being said, sexy time warning. If you don't want to read it then skip this chapter. That being said I hope you enjoy the hell out of this chapter. It's my very first time writing any sort of smut, so hopefully it doesn't disappoint.**

 **AN2: I am headed out of town on Thursday (yay for family vacations that your parents still bring you on!). I'll be relaxing on a beach somewhere with a fruity drink in my hand until next Wednesday. More than likely I** **won't be writing while i'm away so this will probably be the last update for a minute. If there's bad weather I may try and do some, but don't hold me to it. Okay...enough about that. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 15:

When Arizona woke up Sunday morning, she was immensely happy. She could feel the warm embrace of Calliope Torres surrounding her. Her soft, rhythmic breath lapping at her back with every exhale. Her strong, tan arms holding her tightly and her smooth legs intertwined with her own fair ones. She could get used to waking up like this. She could get used to having Callie in her bed each morning.

Not wanting to wake the sleeping beauty that was behind her, Arizona was content to relax into Callie's embrace for as long as Callie was willing to remain sleeping in her bed. Though, Arizona found that she wouldn't be waiting long. No more than ten minutes later, a phone started to ring from somewhere in the room. Because Arizona was facing away from the other two women in the room, she was having a hard time distinguishing where the noise was coming from. Her question was soon answered when she heard the groggy voice of her roommate answer her cellphone.  
Teddy didn't stay groggy for long, which only meant one thing: she was finally getting the chance to talk to Henry. "Henry! It's so good to hear your voice again, baby! God, I miss you so much… Yes, I know you would've kicked my ass if I left Seattle, that's why I'm still here."

Arizona could feel Callie starting to shift and wake up, so she rolled over to face the brunette. "Good morning, beautiful," she greeting while planting a chaste kiss on waiting lips. "You sleep okay?"

This was bliss. Being woken up by a kiss from a beautiful blonde? Yea, Callie could really get used this. She squinted her eyes together, before blinking them repeatedly in effort to get the sleepies out and focus her sights on Arizona. "Morning, babe," she returned in a hushed tone as not to intrude upon Teddy's joyful phone call. "Slept like a rock, but I think that was because I was cuddled up with someone so delicious." And as she emphasized the last word, Callie leaned in to steal another kiss. This one not as chaste and little more risqué for the company they shared the room with.

Their very un-PG like make out was abruptly interrupted by a frustrated surge of emotion coming from Teddy who no longer happily perched on her bed and was now pacing the small space in between the two mattresses. "Henry! You know I love you, but that's not fair for you ask. You say you would've kicked my ass for leaving the competition while you were in a coma and now you're begging me to leave the competition and come see you in LA? I can't just pack up and leave. I love you, but this is my dream. Not to mention, I don't have the money to just buy a plane ticket and shuttle myself down there." The sadness, disappointment, and guilt in Teddy's voice was perceptible and immediately Callie and Arizona both felt like they were intruding on a very private and unfortunate phone call.

As Callie lie awake listening to her new friends dilemma, she couldn't help but want to try and assist Teddy in any way that she possibly could. Rolling away from Arizona and towards the bedside table, Callie lifted her cell phone into her hands and immediately unlocked it. With her index finger flying across the screen, first hitting the contacts buttons and the scrolling to find 'Dad'. At nearly nine in the morning in Seattle, Callie was positive that her dad would be awake and most likely just leaving Mass with his wife, Lucia. She pressed the phone to her ear while simultaneously looking to Arizona whose eyes were crooked with confusion.

The blonde's proximity to the Latina allowed her to hear the other side of Callie's conversation fairly well. Feeling a little guilty for eavesdropping, but helplessly unable to stop it. Arizona's smile positively lit up her face when she realized what Callie was doing.

"Mija, good morning! How are you doing this lovely Sunday morning?" Carlos endearingly asked his daughter. Carlos Torres was a shrewd businessman, a 'take-no-prisoner' type of man that got whatever he wanted. He prided himself on how he had taken the Torres name from a small cluster of Florida hotels to a high-end international hotel chain. Just by the way he carried himself, any onlooker would be able to see that he commanded respect from everyone around him. He never took shit from anyone one, and bent for no one. No one except for the three women in his life.

Lucia, Aria, and Calliope Torres might as well have been the sun, the moon, and the stars to Carlos Torres. He revolved around them, he lived his life for them, and he would do or give anything for them. So when his daughter called needing a favor for a friend, Carlos already knew what his answer would be.

"Good morning, Papi," Callie greeted him quietly as not to intrude on Teddy's on-going personal call. "Did you and Mami go to Mass this morning?"

"Yes, we are just getting back to car now. Father James gave a lovely service this morning. But, Calliope, I doubt the reason for this phone call is to find out how my Sunday morning has been, am I correct in that assumption?"

Blushing mildly at her father's uncanny ability to read her thoughts even over the phone, Callie conceded. "No, that is not the real reason I called you this morning."

Worry was now present in Carlos' voice. Callie kept out of trouble, but had never been known to call so early in the morning before. Something was wrong and he needed to find out what it was right away. "Mija, what is it? Are you okay? You're mother and I can be there in just about…six hours" he said looking down at the face of his Omega watch.

"No, dad I am fine. I promise. Actually, I'm more than fine, I'm great." Callie explained to her father, while flashing Arizona one of her biggest and best smiles. "I actually met someone, but I can tell you and mom all about that when we talk at our usual time tonight. Right now, I wanted to ask you for a favor." When Callie wasn't interrupted by either of her parents on the other line, she continued with her request. "I know you keep a jet here at the airport in case I have an emergency and need to get to Miami or somewhere else quickly, and while it's not me that needs to use it – this is an emergency, dad."

"What kind of emergency?" Carlos quickly asked, needing as much information as he could get before he made his final decision.

"Well, you see, that's where this get's a little dicey. Am I on speakerphone?" Callie was going to try to delay this conversation until later this evening when she normally talked to her parents, but she could see there was no getting around the truth now.

"Yes, you are on speakerphone. Just like always when you call, Mija" Carlos spoke, before being politely interrupted by his wife. "Hi my sweet girl, how are you? I miss you! You met someone, I want to know about her – or is it a him this time?" Lucia could always be counted on to break the ice and ease the conversation.

"Good morning, mami. I am doing well, thank you, and I miss you too." Callie reached out and grabbed Arizona's hand bringing it to her lips and gently kissing the back of her knuckles. That was the best she could do prepare her for what she was about to admit to her parents. Hopefully the blonde would be okay with it. "Yes, I did meet someone. Her name is Arizona Robbins, and she is my girlfriend."

Arizona had been so enchanted with Callie and what she was currently at work doing for her roommate that it took her a minute to process what the Latina had just admitted. _Girlfriend? Did she just call me her girlfriend? Holy shit, I'm pretty sure she did._ Blue eyes then went wide with shock and excitement. Before she could stop herself she was lunging towards Callie closing the small distance between them and planting an affirming kiss on two delicious looking lips.

"Arizona, babe, I'm on the phone…with my parents," Callie admonished with a sly grin before leaning over and offering Arizona a peck. Callie then spent the next minute or two fielding questions from both of her parents on who Arizona was, how they met, was she okay with her being another competitor? Had she had this conversation with her parents last week or even two nights ago, Callie would've been completely unsure about whether dating another competitor was a good idea. But after last night, after their rooftop talk and heartfelt confessions, Callie was more than sure of her decision to be with Arizona and there was nothing anyone could say or do to change that.

"So is it Arizona that needs the jet?" Lucia Torres asked, still not quite sure why her daughter needed their families second plane so badly.

Reigning in her raging libido for a moment, Callie gathered her thoughts back to the first task at hand. "No, it's not Arizona. It's Arizona's roommate and best friend, who is coincidentally now one of my very dear friends. Her name is Teddy. Long story short – Teddy's boyfriend was in a terrible car accident a few weeks ago and he just woke up from his coma last night. He is asking for Teddy, to see her after almost dying and she is helpless to go down there. However she can neither afford a flight, nor afford to leave the competition. So I was calling to see if she could use the jet to fly down to LA today, see Henry, and then fly back to Seattle this evening? It would mean everything to her, Papi. And I just feel like if we have a way to help her see the person she loves and not have to drop out of doing what she loves, then why not help her?" Callie was pleading and not one bit ashamed for it.

On the other side of the country, Carlos and Lucia Torres looked at each other with proud tears in their eyes. They had raised two incredible children together, but what Callie was trying to do for her friend simply melted their hearts. She'd always been compassionate and loving and dove head first into whatever she felt passionate about, never looking back but always being able to pick herself up when she fell down. There was no question in their minds that Calliope was the epitome of a selfless person, and her parents would never be able to express how honored that made them feel. "Of course your friend may use the jet. It was never really in question, we just wanted to know why you needed and this seems like an awfully good reason for it to be used. I'll call Sea-Tac and have them prep the cabin. If she can get ready and be at the airport in half an hour then I'd say there's a good chance that she'll be airborne by 10."

Arizona sat staring at Callie, so enamored with how thoughtful and generous she was being to Teddy. How was it possible to have found someone who's generosity and empathy nearly outshone her beauty. Calliope Torres was perfect, and there was no way in hell Arizona was ever letting her go. In fact, she needed Callie to wrap up this conversation with her parents, inform Teddy of her travel plans and then have Callie…alone, in bed, .long.

"Thank you so much Papi! I am so grateful that you are allowing Teddy to use our plane. She will be so happy and I know Henry will be too. I promise to call you tonight and explain and answer any questions you and mami might have for me, but now I need to go so that I can tell Teddy."

"Sounds good, mija. Talk soon." And with that Carlos and Callie both hung up their phones. Carlos reached across the console of his Jaguar to squeeze the hand of his wife, while Callie sat up in bed and approached Teddy who was pacing and still trying to reason with Henry. As Teddy went to turn and start another short stroll down the hallway of their hotel room, Callie reached out and grabbed her shoulders. Teddy and Callie were now eye to eye, Callie's were filled with happiness and contentment, while Teddy's were filled with sorrow and regret. "Tell him you'll be there in time for lunch" Callie commanded the honey blonde, whose phone was still glued to her ear.

"What?" Teddy asked in utter confusion. "No Henry, not you. Callie, what did you just say?"

Beaming at her friend, Callie repeated herself. "Tell him you'll be bringing him an In-and-Out burger for lunch. My dad's going to lend you our company jet to get you to LA to see Henry."

Words were not being formed, only alligator sized tears. Arizona watched as Teddy reached out and took Callie into an all consuming, bone-crushing hug. "Callie, are you serious? You're flying me to see Henry?"

"I'm very serious. Change clothes and head down to the lobby. I'll call down and have Pete get you a car to the airport. My dad said if you can hustle, you'll be airborne in about an hour. So move it!" Callie then listened as Teddy relayed the happy turn of events to her partner on the phone. When she hung up her call, Teddy again pulled Callie into a big hug and profusely offered her thanks.

Callie crawled back into bed with her newly established girlfriend and fell into the crook of her arm. She nestled down into Arizona's chest and wrapped a caramel arm around her slender midsection. Arizona kissed the crown of Callie's head, still trying to figure out how she'd gotten so lucky and hoping that soon she'd be getting even more lucky.

In a matter of minutes, Teddy was dressed and ready. She confirmed some of the details with Callie, who as promised, had called and gotten a car to pick her up from downstairs. She would be flying into LAX, spend the afternoon with Henry and then would need to be back at the airport for her return flight to Seattle no later than 9pm. Sure, she'd be getting back to the hotel late and would most likely be dead tired all week long in training, but she wouldn't change a thing about getting to see Henry today. Teddy waved goodbye to the two other women, thanked Callie just one last time for her generosity and then was out the door.

Arizona breathed a calming breathe before slouching down in the bed to become face-to-face with Callie again. "So, I'm your girlfriend, huh?" she playfully asked.

Callie wasn't expecting the sudden line of questioning and momentarily regretted jumping the gun with that declaration. "Umm, well yea, I mean I was hoping that you would be. If you're okay with being my girlfriend, that is. I guess I didn't really think about asking you first, I was just excited and then my parents asked, and I-" but her rambling was cut short by two incessant lips. Callie eagerly kissed back, finding an immeasurable amount of joy in being able to lick and suck on the two pink lips that were attacking hers in that moment. When the need for air burned at their lungs, the two women broke from their passionate embrace.

Arizona fought for air and panted hard as she spoke, "I am more than okay with being your girlfriend, Calliope. And now, if it's okay with you, I'd really like to have sex with _my_ girlfriend."

Callie felt the temperature in the room rise as the words left Arizona's mouth. She knew where that last kiss was leading, but to hear those sultry words come out of such a pretty mouth, well, that just made everything inside melt a little bit. Reaching out and gently cupping Arizona's face in her strong hands, Callie answered the burning question with undeniable certainty. "I would love nothing more than to have sex with my girlfriend right now, and all day." After that, there was no need for words, both women were content with their sides of the conversation and now, now they just wanted each other.

Arizona again initiated a kiss, this one started slow and sensual. She took her time kissing Callie's lips and mouth, receiving a sexy moan of appreciation when her ivory teeth pulled on the Latina's bottom lip. As her mouth began wandering, her hands did as well. First her lips sought out Callie's neck. She peppered the smooth skin she found there with slow, languid kisses. She ran the tip of her tongue up from the base Callie's neck to her ear and then gently bit down on her earlobe, eliciting another groan of appreciation. As her mouth moved to repeat the same motions to the other side of Callie's neck, Arizona allowed her hands to explore the Latina's body. Even with her shirt still on, Arizona could feel the taught muscles flexing and jumping under her touch. The heat radiating from this gorgeous body was enough to make her weak. Arizona could tell how badly Callie wanted this, and she was beyond ready to give it to her.

When Arizona felt that she had shown Callie's neck enough attention for the time being, she moved back to the dusty pink lips that were parted and sucking in desperate breath after desperate breath. Arizona captured them with her own and slammed her tongue into Callie's mouth. Needing to feel as much of her as she could, Arizona rolled so that she was no longer side by side with Callie, but instead was straddling her hips and had her front firmly pressed up against the one belonging to the Latina. Arizona could feel rigid nipples protruding through the faded and thinned material of their shirts. Soon feeling it through her shirt wasn't enough. So while her mouth continued exploring all Callie's neck and lips had to offer, Arizona slowly began slipping her hands under the Marine Corps shirt she had lent the taller woman then night before. When they reached their goal, Arizona sighed with content.

Feeling the weight of Callie's perfect breast in her hand, sent a wave of excitement from the tips of her fingers straight down to her core. She kneaded and squeezed two glorious mounds of flesh, paying extra attention to rigid nipples that had been tempting her all morning. Slowly, Arizona rolled them between her index finger and thumb before abruptly pinching them. That elicited a sharp breathe from Callie whose eyes shot open at the brazen efforts of the woman on top of her. Arizona could see that the once soft, chocolate eyes were now raging embers of lust and desire.

Seeing the passion in Callie's eyes gave Arizona another rush of bravery. She removed her hands from underneath Callie's shirt and reached for the hem of it. Callie slowly eased herself up, not able to sit up all the way with Arizona still straddling her hips, but enough so that Arizona could easily remove the shirt. Callie then mirrored her actions, grabbing the bottom of the dark blue college logoed shirt and pulling it up and over an unruly mess of blonde waves.

Both women took a moment to appreciate the new views they now had. Callie, who was still sort of sitting up, buried her face into the valley of Arizona's chest. She kissed her way to one of Arizona's already hard nipples. Sucking it into her mouth, Callie then lavished it with her tongue. Flicking her warm tongue back and forth across the small peak in rapid succession. Arizona moaned loudly in delight and subconsciously ground her hips down into Callie, desperately seeking friction. "Oh god, Callie." She breathlessly moaned which just spurred Callie onwards. Moving from Arizona chest, Callie began kissing her way down the blonde's chiseled, yet feminine frame. Taking her time to run her tongue and teeth over the ridges of Arizona's defined abdominal muscles.

Where Callie had once been nearly pinned to the mattress up near the headboard, she now found herself hovering over Arizona's body. Callie had strategically managed to sit herself up while laying the blonde down with her head at the foot of the bed and her feet resting on pillows. As Callie continued to kiss her way down towards Arizona's burning core, the smaller of the two women was barely able to keep emotions in check as her hips began writhing uncontrollably with wanton desire. This made the Latina only want to work quicker, to get Arizona to the tipping point of pure bliss as soon as she could. If Arizona was this beautiful before having sex, Callie could only imagine what she would look like while she was coming.

When Callie reached the waistband of Arizona shorts, she began bringing her hands up to slide them off the blonde but immediately got a better idea. Making intense eye contact with deep-sea blue eyes, Callie took the elastic of the shorts in between her top and bottom teeth and began shimmying them down two long legs.

At the sight of Callie tugging her sleep shorts off with her teeth Arizona felt the wetness pool between her legs. This woman was beyond sexy and she couldn't wait to feel her tongue and lips on her clit.

When Callie had successfully removed her boxer shorts, Arizona was silently thanking her late night self for deciding underwear wasn't necessary when she was changing into her pajama's the night before. Callie eased herself back up the body of the blonde, kissing and dragging her tongue along the curves of Arizona's legs. Nibbling at the alabaster skin of her inner thighs and the settling herself in between two legs. Again Callie locked eyes with Arizona, silently asking permission to taste what she had been thinking about for days now. With a near imperceptible nod, Callie took a deep breath, inhaling Arizona's unique and scrumptious scent. Callie was already addicted and she hadn't even begun with the real fun.

Callie hooked her arms around Arizona's waist and pulled her center down to meet her waiting lips. With a slow and almost apprehensive lick, Callie reveled in the sweet taste of the blonde that lay bare before her. "Mmm, fuck Arizona, you taste so good." She groaned before returning to apex of Arizona's thighs, this time with more vigor and less control.

Callie's tongue was relentless. First, she circled Arizona's clit, teasing it and sucking it between her lips. Causing Arizona to cuss loudly with pleasure each and every time she did it. Callie was quickly learning what the blonde liked and she loved being able to find out what revved her up more. The Latina then lowered her head and allowed her tongue to explore Arizona's entrance. The wetness gathered there happily surprised the brunette. Arizona was literally soaked, and actually dripping wet. Callie had never felt a woman that wet before and she very quickly decided that she loved it.

"Calliope, please. I need your fingers, please." Arizona begged breathlessly as her own hands began teasing at her still pointed nipples. Her bottom lip was firmly caught between in her teeth as she gasped for ragged breaths. Moans and intermittent whispers of pleasure were the only sounds filling the room.

Callie obliged Arizona's heady demands, slowly sliding first one lone digit, then quickly adding another to fill the blondes tight, wet center. Arizona felt incredible. Callie vigorously worked her fingers in and out of Arizona's slickness, while her mouth worked diligently at her protruding bundle of nerves.

Arizona was quickly coming undone. Her body was moving on its own accord. As Callie fingers began working the deep spot inside that so few could ever find, she sat up on the bed, wholly unable to remain restrained with such intense pleasure surging through her body.

Callie began feeling Arizona's muscles clenching around her fingers and she knew that the blonde was about to come. With another gentle suck and tug on Arizona's clit, she heard the Arizona let out an unbridled, raspy scream. "I'm coming Callie! Fuck! Ohh, god!" then her words became incomprehensible and heavy breathing took over most of her actions. Callie slowed her fingers down so that they were gently massaging the still clenched muscles inside Arizona.

When the blonde's breathing returned to a normal rate, Callie slowly slipped her fingers out and licked them clean. She would never get tired of tasting Arizona. With clean fingers, Callie made her way down to the foot of the bed where she laid her head down on a barely heaving chest. "You are so, so sexy." She noted while kissing the side of one of Arizona's perfectly formed breast.

"Mmhmm, you're sexy. Your tongue is sexy, your lips are sexy, your fingers are damn sexy." Arizona complimented the craftiness of the Latina she currently held in her arms. No one had ever made her come that fast before and she was more than willing to find out if that was a one time thing or if sex with Callie would always be that good. Suddenly rolling them over so that Arizona was back straddling one very turned on brunette, she then growled, "Now, let me see if I can fuck you as good as you as just did me."

Callie was not going to argue with woman perched on top of her. Instead she offered her a challenge, knowing that the competitive blonde wouldn't be able to resist. "Yea, let's see. But, I doubt you'll be as good as me." Callie added a quick wink just to let Arizona know she was only teasing.

The blonde willingly accepted the challenge and quickly went to work trying to best Callie's efforts. The Latina's body was still clothed by her borrowed sleep shorts, so the first thing Arizona was interested in was getting those off. Callie had used her teeth, but Arizona was too greedy and didn't have time for that. Instead, she slipped her hands through the small hole in the front of the shorts and using the strength she'd gathered from years of training, Arizona easily ripped the fabric of the shorts apart at the seams. She wouldn't miss one pair of boxer shorts, and the cause of loss of this pair was totally and completely worth it.

Callie sat in shock. _Holy shit, she literally just ripped those off of me. That's the hottest thing that I've ever seen_. The fire that had been lit in Arizona from Calliope's teasing words was undeniable. She needed the Latina and she needed her now. Not wasting any time once the shorts had been thoroughly torn and the shreds thrown somewhere in the hotel room, Arizona sunk down to her knees and lowered her mouth to meet the perfectly manicured mound of the brunette. Just like Callie, Arizona took a moment to enjoy the view and the essence she was now facing. But she didn't enjoy it for too long because she was far too eager to taste Callie. Using the thumb from each hand, Arizona slowly and gently teased the swollen lips guarding Callie's delectable entrance. Then she allowed her tongue to graze her warm, pink core. Calliope's taste went straight to her senses. She was so sweet and so unique and Arizona couldn't get enough. Every ounce of inhibition Arizona possessed went flying out the window. She was drunk on pure Callie and she never wanted to sober up.

Arizona's tongue unleashed itself on Callie's drenched womanhood. She drew small tight circles around a throbbing clit and then switched it up to languid licks from the bottom of her wet slit and back up to the top. Before thrusting it into Callie's opening. Repeating this routine over and over was doing some kinda things to Callie. She was moaning and begging for more. Begging for Arizona to keep going, for her warm, strong tongue to never cease. With every word of encouragement that fell from plump lips, Arizona picked up steam. Soon she was grinding her hips into the mattress, trying to find some refuge for the pleasure that was building back up in her.

Callie was barely holding on, Arizona was working some kind of magic between her legs and it wasn't going to take much more before she went flying over the metaphorical ledge. It was building, with every swipe over her sensitive bundle, Callie could feel her orgasm getting closer and closer. Then like a surge of blinding electricity scorching through her body, she stiffened and let out a carnal scream of pleasure. "Ahhhh! Oh my god! Arizona, don't fucking stop! Oh…oh…ohhh, yes…right there!" And then, just as quickly as it came on, it faded away leaving Callie completely and happily sated.

When Arizona felt the last shudder of Callie's orgasm subside, she withdrew her mouth from Callie's intimate area and used the back of her hand to roughly wipe her mouth before crawling back up Callie's body and pressing her lips to the Latina's, allowing her to taste the remnants of her hard work still present on the blonde's tongue.

"That was amazing. You are amazing." Callie happily confessed. She wasn't sure how challenging the competitor would go, but if she got to experience that again…well then she would challenge Arizona every time.

* * *

 **AN3: Show me some love? First time writing this kinda thing.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: Thanks for being patient with me while I was on vacation! Here's your next chapter, a little more sexy time and a big moment for Callie and our girls! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 16: _The Group_

Arizona and Callie spent the rest of the morning tangled up in the sheets. Round after glorious round of lovemaking was not doing anything to quench their needs for each other. They'd please one another in the most satisfying of ways and then drift off to sleep wrapped in each others' arms, only to wake up and repeat it all over again. Sex and sweat were thick in the air and that only assisted in fueling the women on more. Finally, after coming for what must've been the sixth time that day Arizona called for a break.

"Calliope, if you want me to keep up this then you're going to have to feed me. It's nearly 5 o'clock and the only thing I have eaten today is you."

Callie sat up to face the blonde who was beginning to remove herself from the confines of the twisted bed sheets and laid a slow and tongue filled kiss onto bruised pink lips. "Well, I've quite gotten my fill from eating you today, but I suppose I could venture from the room today to get my girlfriend a proper dinner. What's say we head around the corner to Joe's for a burger and beer? Then we can head back here, cuddle up and watch a movie together."

Giving Callie her biggest dimpled grin, Arizona eagerly responded "That sounds amazing! I could totally go for a big, juicy, bacon-y burger!" Then she tilted her head and batted her eyelashes at Callie before innocently asking, "Do you think I could pick the movie tonight? There's one I've been dying to see lately and just the other day I saw it available to rent from HBO?"

Callie looked across the bed at her doe-eyed girlfriend. In this moment she was absolutely precious. Her mess of blonde waves perfectly framing her angelic face. Piercing, pleading, blue eyes staring back at her and Callie felt as though Arizona could see straight into her soul. Callie felt oddly at ease with that. The thought of Arizona knowing her and seeing her so intimately felt… _right._ Callie then noticed two soft pink lips were curled into the cutest, childlike smile. Arizona's top lip was lifted just enough to reveal her pearly white teeth firmly held her bottom lip within their grasp. It was such an innocent look – but the way she bit that lip teased Callie in the greatest of ways. Moving her sights lower down Arizona's body, she could see two pale breasts resting just above the fold of the sheets that the blonde was using to cover the rest of her naked body. There were red marks – hickies – splattered all over the fair skin. Callie loved that Arizona had allowed her to leave love and bite marks across her silky smooth skin. Callie was quickly learning that her girlfriend was quite the vixen in bed and didn't mind one bit when things got a little rough.

Without being able to stop herself, Callie leaned over and took one of Arizona's dusty pink nipples into her mouth. She let her flat tongue lick the length of soft skin, immediately making it go rigid. As her tongue and teeth continued to tease one breast, Callie's hand made it's way to the other. Lightly pinching it between her thumb and forefinger, this time eliciting a gentle moan from the smaller woman.

"Caaallie," Arizona hissed out in a whine. "You said we could go eat, ahhh – fuck! Babe, that feels so good." Arizona's resolve was fading away with every flick of Callie's tongue across her over sensitized nipple. As much as that burger was calling her name, she couldn't wait to be screaming Callie's again.

Two fair hands reached down and weaved their way into raven locks, urging Callie's face upwards to meet her own gaze. When dark brown orbs met her steel blue ones Arizona gave implicit instructions to her never sated girlfriend, "Make me come then take me to get my burger."

 _My God, has she ever been hotter?_ Callie asked herself. _Sex and food, I could live off those two things alone._ "Yes, dear," was all Callie managed to say before returning her eager mouth to two heaving breasts. Callie lavished both of them with attention. Switching from nipple to nipple, kissing her way across Arizona's chest only to bite, lick, and suck every inch of rounded flesh.

Arizona was still sitting up on the bed, relishing the feeling of a warm mouth showing so much attention to her chest. She could feel the wetness pooling at her center and starting to drip down on the sheets beneath her. She couldn't believe how turned on she was just from Callie teasing her top half, but damn if it wasn't amazing. No one had ever had this kind of effect on her, and she was beginning to see the advantage of always being turned on by her partner.

Her hips started to gyrate on their own, seeking any kind of friction she could find. When her throbbing core found no relief, Arizona decided to take things into her own hands. She wanted to come, she needed to come. So for the second time in a matter of minutes, her hands wove their way through Callie's dark brown hair and gently pulled her up so they were again face to face. "I want you on top of me, Calliope." She commanded and Callie happily obliged.

The brunette pulled the sheets away revealing a sexy, wanton body, writhing beneath them. Callie then straddled the blonde's lap, allowing for their centers to meet. Callie was pleased when she instantly felt the blonde's arousal mix with her own. Both women sighed at the relief they felt when their bodies met in the most intimate of ways. Arizona let her hands settle on the brunette's hips and she gently encouraged Callie to begin moving by nudging her back and forth.

Callie's arms rested over Arizona's shoulders her fingers interlaced and gripping behind her neck. That gave Callie the ability to pull and hold Arizona close, while also giving her the leverage to grind herself against the blonde. Their lips met in heated and hungry embrace. Neither woman able to get enough of the other. Tongues, teeth, and lips sought as much contact as possible and enough was never enough.

Callie began moving herself faster and with more force over the blonde. Their arousals now completely coated the entirety of centers, from their teased openings all the way up to their protruding and throbbing clits. Arizona broke their passionate kiss, "Harder, Calliope. Fuck me harder." As she begged her lover, Arizona tightened her grip on Callie's hips. Pulling her down with enough force that she would surely be leaving bruises from where her fingertips were digging into tanned skin.

Heart rates increased as libidos were reaching their ultimate goal. Each woman's breathing became staggered and their begging and moaning voices became raspy. "Arizona, baby, you feel so good! Fuck…are you close? God, I'm so close! I want to come, but I want to come with you." Callie's hips picked up their pace, grinding even harder into her girlfriend. She could feel the delectable warmth starting to build up inside of her. Her orgasm was quickly approaching and she wouldn't be able to hold it off much longer. Callie needed Arizona to be close too.

"Mmhmm, yes! Fuck, yes. I'm…I'm clo – Oh, fuck Callie! I'm coooooming!" Arizona screamed as she lifted her hips off the mattress to meet Callie's drenched center one last time. Her body then went rigid with pleasure as she rode out every single glorious wave of her orgasm.

The sight and feel of her girlfriend coming undone beneath her was what sent Callie skyrocketing over the edge herself. "ARIZONA, holy fuck! Oh shiiiiit, babe, oh god you feel so good when you're coming all over me!" The two women allowed for their seventh orgasm of the day to subside before opening their eyes again. Callie was still sitting across two fair legs, but Arizona had gone from sitting up to lying down – her body was flat out exhausted from the day's activities.

"Hmm, that was…"

"Yea, I know what you mean" Arizona readily agreed, though neither woman could put their finger on exactly how amazing that experience had been for them. "Maybe we should shower before we go get dinner? I don't think walking into a restaurant like this would be a very good idea." She giggled and blushed as she thought about her present state being seen by the public.

"I suppose you are right." Callie agreed. "Are we showering separately, or may I join you?" she asked while tenderly kissing the blushing cheek of her girlfriend. Arizona was just too cute when she got all flushed and embarrassed.

"Well, Calliope, you know what they say about conserving water…the best way to do it is to shower together." And with that the blonde leapt from the sheets and pulled her girlfriend with her into the bathroom. One more round in the shower before dinner wouldn't hurt anyone.

* * *

A _hot_ shower out of the way, both women emerged from the steamy bathroom wrapped in fluffy white towels, laughing at a comment Callie had made about their trysts earlier in the morning. It was amazing how comfortable each woman felt so early into their relationship. It was almost as if they had been made to find each other. The chemistry and feelings between were so organic and unforced that just the thought of not being together seemed ridiculous.

Each woman got dressed and ready for a quick supper out, but before leaving the room Callie called down to the front desk and requested maid service come and clean the room while they were out. Since the "Do Not Disturb" hanger had been hanging from the door handle since Teddy left earlier that day, not one person had even thought to knock on the door of room 1502. However, clean sheets and fresh room would be nice to come home to after dinner.

The women walked hand in hand down the street and around the corner to the front entrance to Joe's. Upon looking in the large window of the restaurant Callie and Arizona could see the majority of the rest of the coaches and competitors sitting at a long community table sharing laughs and plates of loaded potato skins. Arizona felt Callie let her hand go and the blonde felt disheartened at once.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Arizona sullenly asked her girlfriend. It wasn't at all what she wanted to do, but she also didn't want Callie feeling uncomfortable around the people with whom she spent the majority of her time.

Callie took a moment to gather her thoughts before answering Arizona's probing question. Did she want to go somewhere else? And if her answer was yes, did that mean she was ashamed of the person she was – or even worse, was she ashamed of the person she was with. Quickly, Callie answered that question without hesitation. No. She could never be ashamed of having Arizona on her arm. _I mean look at her_ she thought, _she's hot as hell and she wants to be with ME._

So, Callie wasn't ashamed of Arizona being her girlfriend. One issue down, one to go. Was she ashamed of herself? Did she have a problem with herself liking women as more than just a close friend? Her parents and sister seemed to accept it easily enough, so why was she all the sudden so nervous about being who she was? After a beat, the answer became clear: once she crossed this bridge, once she allowed herself to be seen with a woman – even if it was just in front of co-workers and competitors – the world would find out that she, Calliope I. Torres, was in fact bi-sexual.

The question then became, was Callie ready for her private life to become public? She looked at Arizona who was standing across from her nervously shifting her weight from her left foot to her right. Callie could see the vulnerability in her eyes and fear that she wasn't good enough. Her thoughts went back to their rooftop conversation, where Callie had told the blonde that she was 'all-in'. She told her that she was ready to take the plunge and dive head first into this adventure with her. And the answer was suddenly clear as day. "No, I don't want to go anywhere else." Callie matter-of-factly stated and then reached out to retake the Arizona's hand in hers. "I promised my girlfriend a burger and a beer and I fully intend to keep that promise. C'mon, let's see if we can pull up two chairs to the group!" And with that Callie pulled her blonde girlfriend through the doors of Joe's and up to the table of their friends.

"Hey guys! Mind if we join you for dinner?" Callie asked no one in particular but received a resounding symphony of "Nope, welcome to the party's" in return. Callie eagerly pulled up two more chairs and allowed Arizona to sit down before gently pushing her in closer to the table, not at all caring who might've been watching. Callie then walked around to the other side of the table and sat down next to Owen and across from Arizona. Others sitting around the able already included Mark, April, Meredith, Addison, Derek, Jackson, Cristina, Preston, and Alex.

Arizona looked and noticed that there was a very distinct way in which the group was organized around the table. She was next to Derek, who was very close to Meredith and whispering something to her that made her giggle like a schoolgirl. _There's definitely something going between those two_. _But that's a good thing because that means I'm not the only one who has a thing going with a trainer._ Next to Meredith sat Jackson who was getting awfully chummy with April next to him. _Did he? Yep. He did just kiss her. Aww, they make a cute couple._ At the end of her side of the table sat Addison who was deep conversation with Mark who sat directly across from her.

Next to Mark sat one very alone and angry looking Alex Karev. "Karev!" Arizona nearly shouted above the crowd noise to get his attention. The two of them had become gym buddies over the last week. Each of them taking the competition more seriously than the other competitors and finding enjoyment in training together, pushing each other to train harder and longer. When Alex looked up from the brim of his half empty pint glass Arizona went on with her question, "Who peed in your cheerios this morning?"

Not the question he wanted to be asked, Alex just glared at the blonde and went back to his beer. "Don't take it personally, he's just pissed off because he invited Stevens out with us and she turned him down." Cristina cackled as she reveled in getting to tell Arizona about Alex's misfortune in the lady department.

"Bite me, Yang" Alex growled before throwing a twenty dollar bill down on the table and stalking out of the bar.

Next to Alex's now vacant seat sat Burke, then Cristina, then Owen, and finally Arizona's eyes fell back to the gorgeous form of her girlfriend. The two women then made eye contact, exchanging unspoken words about the awkwardness of Preston and Owen vying for the attention of the witty Asian seated in between them.

When the waitress appeared to take dinner orders, everyone placed an order for a burger and another beer, while Callie and Arizona ordered their first pint.

As the food arrived, so did the questions about the extent of the Callie and Arizona's relationship. Surprisingly, Derek was the one to break the silence the group had been observing about the elephant in the room. He and Callie had worked together for a couple of seasons now, and he was just dying to know what was going on her personal life. "So, Callie" he began while picking up a couple of fries in his hand and dipping them in ketchup. "Am I to presume that you and this lovely lady" gesturing towards Arizona, he continued "are here together?"

Arizona felt the nerves well up in her gut, what was Callie going to say? Was she going to come out to the group right here and right now? Arizona herself had been out for years, but for Callie – this was all new to her.

Without skipping a beat, Callie answered the man with perfect hair's question. "Yes, as a matter of fact Derek, Arizona and I came here on a date. She's my girlfriend." Callie then took a look around the table, everyone seemed to have taken the news in stride. Everyone with the exception of Mark who was just giving her a blank stare. But Callie didn't care. The only thing that mattered to her was Arizona and her feelings. So when her eyes shifted to the blonde's chair, but found it empty Callie became concerned. Had she said something she shouldn't have? Had she read Arizona's signals all wrong and was she not ready to be out in front of the group?

Callie's brain was working so fast that it took her a minute to catch up to what was happening. Then she slowly registered that she was being kissed, and kissed hard. The moment she had told everyone the truth, Arizona was out of her seat and rounding the table. She grabbed Callie's face between her palms and gave her a searing kiss. It was one thing for Callie to have agreed to go in and have dinner with the group, but for her to explain to the group the true nature of their relationship, that wasn't something the blonde fully expected to happen. So, she couldn't help herself but to kiss the crap out of her girlfriend.

"Sorry," Arizona sheepishly apologized when she let go of Callie's face and went to return back to her place at the table. Before she could make it there she felt a hand reach out and pull her backwards. Losing her balance at the sudden unsteady jerk, Arizona fell into two strong, caramel arms.

"Don't ever apologize for a kiss like that, do you hear me?" Callie said with a wink before standing her girlfriend back up and lightly slapping her ass.

A couple shouts of "get a room!" came from Cristina and Addison, but it was all in good humor. The two woman then answered a round of rapid fire questions ranging from when Callie knew she liked women to if the two had sealed the deal yet. Neither voluntarily answered that question, but they assumed the vibrant blush of their cheeks was answer enough for the group.

As the questions wound down, so did their appetites. A yawn escaped from Arizona's lips and Callie suggested they bid their friends goodnight and return to the hotel. When she received no opposition from Arizona, Callie handed their waitress enough cash to cover their dinner and led her tired girlfriend down the street and back to their hotel.

* * *

In the time the two women had returned to Arizona's room, Callie had skyped with her parents and formally introduced them to Arizona. Then the blonde took a long, hot bath allowing her muscles to soak and heal after their workout in the sheets earlier that day. Then both women dressed themselves in pj's. Callie having to borrow yet another pair of boxer shorts, as the ones she had worn the night before were in tattered shreds thanks to Arizona's muscled arms and hands. The two then laid in bed, cuddled up within each other to watch a movie.

Halfway through The Lion King, the movie Arizona had insisted the two of them watch, Callie could hear soft snores coming from the pillow next to her. It was nearing midnight and Callie knew she should try to get some sleep too. Tomorrow morning brought with another grueling start to their training. In what would now be the third week of training, the intensity level was increasing. The competitors only had a couple weeks of strictly training left before the competition started, and once that happened the stakes increased ten-fold for her and Arizona's relationship.

As Callie began to drift off to sleep, she heard the door to the room squeak open. Sitting up slightly, Callie watched as a smiling Teddy crossed in front of their bed and sat down on her own. "Hey," Callie whispered. "How was L.A.? Did you and Henry have a good day?"

"All I can say is that I will never be able to repay you or your father for how amazing today was. From the absolute bottom of my heart, thank you Callie. I didn't know how badly I needed to see him until he was right in front of my eyes. Seeing all of his cuts and bruises made me realize how lucky I am to still have him alive and with me. He needed me and I needed him. Just – thank you."

Smiling generously at her new friend the only thing Callie could say was "You're welcome." Then Callie watched as Teddy climbed under the covers of her bed, still fully dressed and dozed off with a smile plastered to her face. Callie then rolled back over and became the big spoon for her girlfriend. Callie nestled herself in close and like Teddy, she fell asleep with the biggest grin on her face, because everything that mattered to her could be found within arms reach.

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 **AN2: So, I need be real for minute. I haven't been getting many new followers or reviews after the last couple of chapter updates and I'm getting a little discouraged when it comes to the writing process. If no one is interested in my story anymore then I don't see the point in continuing to write it. If y'all are still out there and enjoying what I'm putting out, please let me know - or I'll hang my hat on the notion that I had good run but that it's time to end my stint in writing.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: Hello my lovely readers! First I will start off by thanking everyone for the interest you continue to show in this story. I was worried I didn't have any readers anymore, and boy did y'all show up big time when I asked if there was anyone out there still. With your overwhelming support, I will continue to write this story for as long as I am able to. I have some ideas of things that I still want to happen, but most of this is just a make it up as I go type of deal. That being said, obviously we will get through the competition, just beyond that I have no idea how far the story will go.**

 **AN2: I apologize for how long this update took to get out. I was REALLLLLY lacking inspiration on where to take the story and I think that's obvious since it took nearly 3 weeks to update. However, the good news is that it's the longest chapter thus far! So I hope y'all enjoy!**

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Chapter 17: _Robinson Cano_

It had been a hellacious week of training. Arizona and the other fifteen competitors had been pushed to their breaking points every afternoon. The trainers not letting up once in the six grueling days since last Sunday when nearly everyone had been gathered around a table at Joe's enjoying each other's company. Arizona reflected on that moment as she pounded away at the speed bag hanging right at eye level in front of her.

Fighters use the speed bag for a variety of reasons. One of those reason being it helps build muscle memory in your shoulders, arms, and hands. By always having to keep your hands up to hit the bag back into place, a fighter's muscles quickly learn the feel and get used to being up and in a defensive stance. The speed bag also helps a fighter with their timing and rhythm.

As humans, we are predestined to love rhythms and to try and find them in nearly everything we do. Take for instance our heartbeat. From the time we are just a little bean sized nugget in our mother's womb, the first thing we hear is her heartbeat. We become fond of its mellow and steady _thump-thump_ , _thump-thump._ So, to a fighter, there is nothing more soothing than the constant ticking of the fast moving, lightweight punching bag.

Arizona felt at peace while she worked tirelessly to perfect her arm movements and the timing of her punches. She alternated between slow and methodical punch sequences, letting the bag come to an almost complete stop before picking up the pace to punching at a near neck breaking speed. The bag moving so fast that all she could see was a red blur and all she could feel were her taped knuckles making brief contact with the air-filled, leather bound bag hanging in front of her.

It was nearing the end of the afternoon training session, but none of the fighters were easing up on themselves. The aura in the gym had drastically changed over the week. Nearly all sixteen competitors felt the intensity of their training amp up starting first thing that Monday morning. Webber had met them in the lobby of the hotel where they all would sit and wait for the shuttle to the gym and he informed them that the shuttle would no longer be of service to them. Instead, they would be starting their mornings off with a run to the gym. Webber still felt like some of the competitors weren't taking their training seriously enough, so in an effort to increase their productivity and stamina, all trips to and from the gym would now be on foot. Sprints in the morning and light jog in the afternoons. It was now Saturday and Arizona could tell that everyone's mentality in the gym was starting to change. They only had one week of training left after this one before the competition started and no one wanted to be the first to go home, especially Arizona.

As Arizona's hands never slowed on the bag, her eyes scanned the gym taking in her competition and making mental notes of who was doing what, what the other women's strengths and weaknesses might be. Arizona might not be the biggest or strongest one in the group but damnit she could fight. And she didn't just use her aggressiveness and agility in the ring. She used her smarts and her steel trap of mind to her advantage. From afar, she silently studied the other's stances, which hand they were dominant with, if they started punch sequences with their left or right, if they bobbed and then weaved or weaved and then bobbed. All of that meant something to Arizona, every aspect of a fighter's routine was important and if she could dissect their strategy before setting foot in the ring with them, then she knew she could beat them.

First looking over to the heavy, full size punching bags across the gym, Arizona watched as Bailey worked with Addison. _Hmm, she threw a left hook first then a right body shot. Let's see if she does that again?_ A few seconds went by as Arizona watched Bailey give a brief set of instructions to the tall red-head before she began her next set of punches. _Yep, left then right. Alright, Addy do it again for me and make sure you…yep, thank you very much Ms. Montgomery. You throw the left hook and drop your right hand just enough for me to knock you with my left. Next. Alright, let's see_. Arizona's eyes covertly shifted around the gym to land on two women sparring in the middle of the ring. April and Lexie were battling it out in front of Callie who was standing on the outside edge of the canvas, propped up on the ropes shouting out advice and words of encouragement for both women. Before Arizona set her focus to the competition working inside the confines of the ring, she locked eyes with the Latin beauty standing just outside of it. With a quick wink and seductive smile back and forth, both Callie and Arizona's gaze shifted back to the two in the ring. Both onlookers were searching for areas of weakness, though their reasons for finding those were completely different. Callie wanted to improve upon those areas, while Arizona just wanted to take advantage of them.

 _April, she's shy. Once she takes a hit she totally clams up. Doesn't know how to respond once she feels that pain coursing through her body. Though, until she gets hit she's a feisty one. Going to have to be prepared for her to come out swinging. What about you Lexie? What's your flaw? C'mon, give me something._ Arizona watched and watched and watched but couldn't find anything. Though, it didn't help that April had gone completely cold with her punches, unable to land even a glancing blow to the fast moving Grey. _That's something to remember though, Robbins_ she continued with her inner monologue. _Lexie has quick as hell feet. Do her hands move as fast, though?_ _…Nope they sure don't. So, quick feet, but slow body – that's going to make for one severely unbalanced fighter. I can use that._

Just as Arizona was about to find the next victim to pick apart, Richard Webber appeared in the gym entrance. "Fighters, attention please." He bellowed through the sweaty gym. Everyone, including the trainers stopped what they were doing and turned their focus to their leader. "I have just a few things I want to say to you before I dismiss you a bit early for the day. The first thing is I want to say how impressed I am with this group of individuals. I ripped you all a new one Monday morning in that hotel lobby, disappointed with the lack of effort I had been seeing from most of you. I seriously doubted some of your abilities and thought about kicking a couple of you out before we even got to the important part of this competition. However, this week you proved me wrong. You all have shown me how dedicated you are to not only this sport, but to this competition as well. I firmly believe that each and every one of you will find success in the boxing ring, some maybe quicker than others, but success nonetheless. The second thing I would like to say to you is that in an effort to build a sense of friendship and camaraderie before you all start to beat the shit out of each other in a week or so, I have arranged for all sixteen of you to attend the Seattle Mariners game tomorrow afternoon. You will be bused to the stadium where you will enjoy all the beer, hotdogs and free baseball you want and then it's back to work hard Monday morning for your last week of training. So, uh, don't drink too much beer and enjoy the game. You're done for the day, hit the showers, and go Mariners!" With that, Richard turned on his heels and left the gym just as quickly and quietly as he entered.

The once quiet gym was now a buzz of excitement. It didn't matter if you loved baseball or didn't know what a strike was, they were getting free entertainment, free food, and most importantly free beer. What could be better? Oh yea, the fact that Arizona had again won the Saturday challenge and had a romantic dinner date with hot as fuck girlfriend, most likely to be followed by some equally as hot and dirty sex.

Once she was showered and had her gym bag packed up, Arizona found Callie sitting on the small row of bleachers next to the ring. "Callie, you ready to head back to our room?" she asked her dark haired beauty. The girls had quickly fallen into the habit of referring to Arizona's room as their room. Even though Callie had a giant penthouse suite all to herself, she much preferred the hominess of Arizona's room, plus Teddy was also there. Ever since the first time they had all hung out, the three women had become incredibly close and did almost everything outside of the competition together.

Looking up from her phone where she had been sending a quick text to her sister, Callie smiled when she locked eyes with Arizona. "Yep, I'm ready! Let's go get ready for our date, shall we?" Callie leaned in for a kiss but her lips never found the supple, pink ones of her girlfriend. "What's wrong?" she quietly asked.

"Nothing." Arizona lied and looking at Callie she knew she wasn't fooling her. "I just, don't want to flaunt what we have in front of everyone. I know I kissed you Sunday at Joe's, but that was kind of on a whim. I think I'd rather just keep the relationship part of us out of the gym. Is that okay?" Arizona had been avoiding this conversation all week. She didn't want to hurt Callie by denying her love and affection within the walls of the gym, but she also didn't want other competitors thinking she was only dating Callie for an advantage in the competition.

"Babe, of course that's okay with me. I know you don't want people getting the wrong ideas about us, and I totally understand that. It's probably smart anyways, we both want you to win this thing and here is where you need to be the most focused. So yes, we will keep it platonic when we're in here." Callie smiled knowing she had just lifted a huge weight off the shoulders of her girlfriend. "But the second we're out those doors, you're mine," she growled in just above a whisper.

"I think I can handle that," Arizona replied with a sly smile and sauntered out the gym doors, adding a little extra swing to step to taunt the brunette who was loving every second of watching Arizona's ass walk away.

The two women walked hand in hand down the street and back to their hotel. Talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Each woman over the moon happy to have found someone to share their life with. Whether it was a mundane conversation about preferring to wear a hat backwards versus forwards, or an in depth conversation on the struggles of growing up in a military household, the girls just loved to talk and get to know each other.

"What time are our reservations tonight babe?" Callie asked as they approached the front revolving door of the hotel. Even though Callie stayed in the room with Arizona every night, she still showered and got ready up in her room. After all, that's where her closet was and she did have the bigger shower with a glorious waterfall showerhead that should not go to waste.

"Webber said my time was at 7 tonight. Does that give you enough time to get ready or do you want me to call and see if I can back our reservation up a little bit?"

Callie looked at her watch and saw it was only 5:30. "No I should have enough time. Want to meet down here at 6:45? It's suppose to be a nice night and it won't take us but a few minutes to walk to Oak from here?"

As they boarded the elevator Arizona leaned in for kiss, silently thanking the powers at be that they were alone at last. Moaning into Callie's mouth, Arizona deepened the kiss. She moved her hands up to cup Callie's face as she pressed her body into the Latina's. Callie then used the blonde's closeness to her advantage and spun them around, pinning Arizona to back wall of the elevator. Reaching back, Callie pressed the emergency stop button on the panel and waited as the carriage came to an abrupt stop. She then returned to her gorgeous blonde who had a look of passion burning in her eyes. Callie ran her hands up the muscular sides of her girlfriend and attacked her lips. Tongues and teeth clattering together only intensified the feeling inside the compact elevator car. Callie moved her mouth down to Arizona's neck, the one place she knew drove her blonde instantaneously crazy. Callie had never known anything like that before, even a simple graze across the sensitive skin of Arizona's neck turned her girlfriend on in unimaginable ways, and Callie loved that she had quickly figured that out.

What Callie didn't count on, though, was her girlfriend to be cognizant of their time crunch. "Callie, Callie, ohhh god, yes! – no, Callie!" Arizona was waging an internal war with herself, let Callie fuck her right her in this elevator or do the "right" thing and put a stop to this and make it to their date tonight. As badly as she wanted to come, their dinner dates had become somewhat of a tradition for them and Arizona didn't want to miss out on one for a quick fuck. There would be time for later that night. "Callie, babe. You gotta quit that." Arizona managed to get out in between panting breaths.

"Why, hmm, why do 'gotta quit'?" Callie teased, but knew exactly why the blonde was putting an end to it before _it_ got started.

Straightening herself upright against the wall and fixing her hair and shirt, Arizona explained herself to Callie, "Because I want us to make our dinner reservation and I know if we start this now, then we won't be leaving this hotel until sometime tomorrow. I'm not saying I wouldn't enjoy that, but I would also enjoy a dinner date with you too. I mean I love sex with you, look at you! You're hot, like really holy-shit-fuck-me-now hot, but I just love our dates together and we…"

Two soft lips cut her speech off with a quick peck. "Baby, you're rambling. I know what you meant and I agree. Our Saturday dinner dates are my favorite thing in the world and I don't want to miss it either. Besides, we can have some fun when we get back." Callie finished her heartfelt speech and pressed the emergency stop button again, this time jolting the carriage back in motion and headed up to the fifteenth floor to drop her girlfriend off. "And for the record, you are most certainly fuck-me-right-now hot too, buuuut since you're not going to let me do you now I guess I'll have to go up and take of this little _situation_ I now have by myself" And with that, Arizona watched the doors of the elevator close as her girlfriend slowly slid her hand down into the front of her shorts.

"Not nice Callie!" Arizona yelled to closed metal doors and an empty hallway before retreating to her room to get ready…alone and incredibly turned on.

* * *

Just over an hour later, Callie stood in the lobby waiting for Arizona to arrive. Callie had spent the majority of her time alone trying to figure out what to wear to dinner. Deciding to go with mint green cropped pants, a white button down shirt that she paired with a navy blazer and ballet flats. While waiting, she put the final touches on her outfit by rolling the sleeves her blazer and cuffing the white sleeves up. She felt hot and the look on Arizona's face when she found her in the lobby most definitely confirmed that.

"Callie, wow! You look…just wow!" Arizona had no words, only a rush of tingles surging through her body.

"Umm, babe, I could say the same thing about you. Good god, where have you been hiding this outfit?" Callie's eyes swept up and down the length of Arizona's body at least three times, but no amount of times was ever going to be enough for the brunette. Arizona had walked across the marble floor of the lobby looking like a model. Her legs dazzled in the navy wedges she wore, but what really had Callie going was the lacy, rose pink mini-skirt Arizona wore. If the shoes didn't highlight the blonde's perfectly toned legs, the skirt most certainly did. Her top was a simple silk blouse bearing a navy and pink floral print. Both women had their hair down, Arizona's straightened and Callie's in loose curls.

Blushing at Callie's remark, Arizona did a small twirl before kissing her girlfriend hello. "Why, thank you my dear. I take it you like what you see?" she asked, smirking at the obviousness of the answer to that question.

"I more than like it, and if we are actually going to make it to this dinner then we need to leave, right now, or I'm taking you back upstairs." And with that Callie grabbed Arizona's hand and headed out into the warm Seattle summer night.

"God, that dinner was so good! I swear this place gets better and better each week." Callie said while putting her fork down. She couldn't eat another bite or she might explode.

"Mmhmm, I couldn't agree more. I don't know what my favorite part is though. The steak or the tiramisu at the end!" Arizona always ordered the same dessert each week. No matter how many times Callie asked if they wanted to try something new, the blonde always wanted the layered sponge cake soaked in the yummiest coffee and rum, and Callie always gave in. Not that she minded, the tiramisu was exceptionally delicious and nothing made her happier than seeing Arizona so happy.

With both women ready to be rolled out of the restaurant, they decided to call it an evening and make their way back to the hotel. Motioning for their waiter to deliver the check, Arizona waited patiently for him to bring it so she could sign for the meal. Webber always picked up the tab, but in order the restaurant to keep track of sales, someone always had to sign for the food. Once her John Hancock was on the bottom of the receipt Arizona stood and reached out her hand for Callie to take. The two women thanked their waiter and the Maître D on the way out and then began their journey back.

Callie was the first to break the comfortable silence between them. "So I talked to my dad while I was getting ready and he called in a couple favors and got us a box for tomorrow's baseball game. I'm so excited for us to spend the day together again, babe! …Babe? What's wrong?" Callie asked after her hand had been forcefully ripped out of Arizona's who had stopped in her tracks in the middle of the quiet sidewalk. Fearing something was terribly wrong, Callie asked again, "Arizona, honey what is it? Are you okay?"  
Staring incredulously at her girlfriend, Arizona was struggling to find the right words to say. "Callie, I'm not going to the game with you tomorrow."

Now it was Callie's turn to stare awkwardly. "What do you mean you're not going with me to the game? I just told you I got us better tickets, box freaking seats, so yeah, we are going to the game together."

Not wasting a breath Arizona replied, "No Callie, we aren't. I am going to the game. Me, not you, not us. Webber gave the sixteen of us fighters a gift. A free day to spend getting to know each other, getting to forge friendships that we might not have been able to otherwise. I can't bail on that, on him, on my fellow competitors. I appreciate you making the effort do something as nice as get box seats for us, but you understand right? You understand that I need to do this for me, right? That I need to go and enjoy this game with the people who are here just like me?"

Stunned and completely caught off guard, the last thing Callie could do was understand where all of this was coming from. "Actually, Arizona, no. I don't understand. I just told you that I got box seats for me and you, for _us_ to enjoy the game and you're going to stand there and tell me that you'd rather spend the day with everyone except your fucking girlfriend?!"

"That's the thing Callie, you can't just throw money and shower me gifts. I don't need all of that to want to be with you. I like you for you, not for the money and expensive things you can get with it. And of course, if it were any other Sunday and any other game, I would love to go with you. You are my girlfriend for god sake and I love spending time with you, but tomorrow might be the only chance I have to make other friends before people start to get kicked out of this competition. Why would I not want that opportunity?"

Nothing Arizona was saying was making any sense to Callie. She could not possibly understand how Arizona didn't want to spend the day with her. Why did she need to spend time with other people when they could instead be spending time together? No part of this was okay and Callie wasn't going to stand around and be hurt by her girlfriend's words any longer. "Fine. You want to go alone then go alone. In fact, have fun being alone all fucking night." The words flew out of Callie's mouth faster than she could think about what she was saying. "Oh, and thanks for dinner, enjoy your precious baseball game." Sarcasm dripped off the end of that sentence like ice cream melting down a waffle cone. "One last thing." Callie said whipping around to face Arizona, "don't even think about following me. I'm done with this for tonight."

Before she knew it Arizona was standing completely alone on a dark sidewalk, having just watched her fiery Latina stomp off in the direction of Joe's and not their hotel. Deciding she better give Callie her space, Arizona reluctantly walked toward the hotel and not the bar where she imagined Callie was to be getting wasted tonight.

This was going to be a long night and even longer day tomorrow. There was a good chance Arizona wasn't going to see Callie until tomorrow night at the earliest. Webber had arranged for the fighters to be picked up and bused to the stadium at 9am where they would get a private tour of the complex, get to take batting practice with the team, and then be escorted to their seats to watch first pitch at 2 pm. Arizona was not looking forward to sleeping alone, but with Callie demanding she not be followed, there was nothing she could really do. Accepting the fact that she had clearly royally fucked everything up, Arizona climbed into her bed and let the tears begin to fall. She hugged the pillow Callie always slept on in close to her body, inhaling the smell of girlfriend, silently praying that she would still be able to call her that after tonight, and she drifted off into a restless nights sleep.

* * *

Arizona was pretty miserable and if it hadn't been for her best friend this entire day would have been nothing short of an emotional disaster. Teddy had to fight a little bit to get Arizona out of bed that morning, but since then she had been able to raise the blonde's spirits just enough to help her enjoy the experience a little bit. The private tour had been really in depth. The fighters got to see everything from the weight rooms, to the indoor batting cages, even the locker room after all the players had changed and left for the field. Everyone got a signed baseball full of signatures from various players on the team and replica jerseys to wear during batting practice, complete their own last names printed across the shoulders.

Batting practice had been incredibly fun, and for a moment Arizona was able to forget that she hadn't heard from Callie since she stomped away the night before. Teddy cheered her on from the side of the cage as she took pitch after pitch, smacking the crap out of each one. _Thank goodness Tim and I played backyard baseball when we were growing up, I'd be so embarrassed if I couldn't hit the ball in front of these professionals._ When her turn was up, she stood and cheered on Teddy who missed nearly every pitch but had a ball doing it.

Now they were sitting in the stand anxiously awaiting first pitch. The Mariners were playing the Chicago Cubs, something that Alex was excited about. Apparently they were his real favorite team, although he was doing a pretty good job at pretending to be a diehard Mariners fan. And how could he not at least pretend? They had some of the best seats in the house courtesy of the Mariners and one Richard Webber. First row, down the first base line, they were practically sitting on the field with the players!

"I have to admit," Arizona said, turning to face Teddy who was sitting to her right. Arizona had chosen to sit on the end of the row closest to the batter's boxes. She didn't want to have to talk to anyone except Teddy, which she found incredibly ironic. Her reasoning for not going to the game with Callie was because she wanted to make new friends, but now she didn't want to talk to anyone except for her roommate. "This is pretty freaking cool! I mean we are right here with the players, drinking and eating all for free. I could get used to this."  
"Yea, it is pretty cool. And I know you sort of wish Callie was here, and I'm sorry you guys are fighting. I think when we get back you should go to her room and try to talk. From what you told me about what happened, it sounds like she overreacted a little bit, but maybe she has her reasons. Just promise to hear her out and try to stay calm when talking about everything. You two are too perfect together to lose each other over something as silly as a baseball game. Okay?"

Arizona knew her friend was right. Callie was far too important to lose and she would do just that when they returned to the hotel. She would find her woman and make amends, because whether she admitted to Callie yet or not, she was in love with her. And a love like theirs was too precious to let go. "Yea, I will Teddy. I promise. And thanks for being there for me today, it means a lot that I can count on you."

It was now the bottom of the fourth inning and Seattle was up to bat. Chicago was leading 4-1, but Seattle had runners on first and third with nobody out and their big hitter Robinson Cano up to bat. With 3 balls and no strikes, Robinson was given the "swing away" sign from his coach standing at third base. Jake Arrieta, Chicago's ace, was on the mound and started his windup. A fastball right down the middle, the perfect pitch for Robinson to knock out of the park. Only he didn't, he swung too early and foul tipped the ball sending it screaming into the crowd. And something was off with the way it sounded when he hit the ball. Instead of a crisp smack of the ball, it almost sounded like a muffled cracking.

"That's weird, Arizona did you hear that? It sounded like his bat broke when… SHIT! Oh fuck, shit! ARIZONA! Arizona, can you hear me?!" Teddy turned to Addison who was sitting next to her, "Addison get help now!"

A couple beers in, it took the redhead a minute to figure out what Teddy was saying. "Whaat? Why do we need help, I only need one of the players to help me out."

"ADDISON!" Teddy yelled again, cutting off the tipsy rambling. "Go get some fucking help! That guys bat broke it came flying into the stands and hit Arizona square in the face! She's unconscious and bleeding everywhere, so please go get some help!"

By this time the stadium had gone completely silent. The replay of what had happened was being shown on a loop on the stadiums big screen. Nobody had realized what had happened at first because all eyes were on the foul ball going out of play. It wasn't until everyone clued into the broken bat still in the hands of Cano, that people realized there was something really wrong.

Before Addison could make it up the steps, a medical team was on its way down to Arizona. Her lifeless body was moved onto a stretcher and the EMT's worked to stop the bleeding. At first glance it just looked like she had a bloody nose, a cut lip and had been knocked out when the bat hit her. But upon closer inspection, her left cheek was already starting to swell and bruise was forming around her eye socket.

"Is she going to be okay?" Teddy asked one of the first responders with a shaky voice and tears welling in her eyes.

Applying a butterfly band aid to the cut above Arizona's left eye he responded, "I think so ma'am, she's still out cold though and we need to get her to the hospital. Are you friends with her?" Teddy nodded, unable to form a word in fear of letting out a sob. "Okay, you can ride in the rig with us then. We're taking her to Seattle Grace Hospital.

Two hours later, a small group of fighters including Teddy, Addison, Alex, and Meredith were sitting in the waiting room when in walks Callie and Bailey. Teddy stood up and rushed to Callie's side. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had snot dripping from her nose, a clear sign she'd been informed of what happened and was not taking it well. "Where is she?" Callie demanded. "I need to see her, I know she's mad at me, but I need to see her!"

Teddy wrapped the brunette in tight hug, "Shh, Callie it's okay. She's going to be okay. We arrived her about two hours ago and Arizona was examined when we got here. When she got hit, the bat knocked her out, but she came to on the ride to the hospital. She was in a lot of pain, but stayed calm the whole time. She's got a couple cuts on her face, but the worst part is her cheekbone. When the bat hit her, it kind of shattered it. The doctor called it a, uhh, oh shit what did he call it?" Teddy was kicking herself for not being able to remember. She thought Callie might show up and she forced herself to pay even closer attention to what the doctor was saying for this very reason.

"He called it a maxillofacial fracture," Addison piped in knowing that Teddy was also struggling to keep herself together. "He said that he needed to go in and wire the bone back together, but that she should heal properly in a couple of weeks. She's going to be okay you two, okay?"

Both Callie and Teddy nodded as they continued to hug each other, finding comfort in the fact that they both deeply cared for the blonde, in different ways of course, but they still cared. They then sat down in the waiting room along with Bailey and the other fighters who were starting to trickle in after the game ended.

Thirty minutes later a doctor in navy blue scrubs and white lab coat appeared in front of the group. "Are y'all here for Arizona Robbins?" He asked and when he got a collective nod from the group he went on with his explanation of his work. "She is out of surgery and being moved to recovery as we speak. The surgery went exceptionally well, she is a fighter through and through and thanks to her existing muscle structure, her recovery time will most likely be reduced, which is a very good thing. Does she have any family here? If so we can take you back to see her now. She should be waking up soon."

Teddy looked at Callie, "You go. She's going to want to see you first." Callie nodded and silently thanked Teddy for taking care of her girl when she herself had failed to do so. "Oh and Callie, she's really sorry." Another nod was all Teddy got from the still shaken brunette.

Callie approached the doctor, "She's my girlfriend, and her family is on the east coast. Is it okay if I back with you? I know she's really going to want to see me."

"Normally, I would say no, but if you're telling me that you're the closest thing she has to family here then I suppose I can make an exception. Follow me Ms…"

"Torres. And thank you very much doctor." Callie graciously spoke as she stayed two steps behind the orthopedic specialist on their way to Arizona's hospital room.

When Callie entered, her heart broke. There was her beautiful girlfriend hooked up to a bunch of machines, face swollen and bruised with a couple stitches around her eye. "Oh baby" she whispered while sitting in the chair next to her still sleeping girlfriend. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. Oh Arizona, please wake up, please let me see those beautiful eyes of yours so I can look into them and tell you how sorry I am for the way I acted last night." Callie reached out and grabbed a limp hand and held onto it for dear life. She lowered her face into the mattress and allowed for a few more tears to escape before she felt a hand come to rest on her head.

"Don't cry baby." A groggy voice hoarsely whispered. "I'm okay, see?"

Callie looked up to lock eyes with Arizona. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm sorry this happened, I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner, and most importantly I'm sorry for last night. I was being a selfish idiot and you didn't deserve the way I reacted at all." Callie took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts, she'd practiced this apology since last night when she ran into Bailey at Joe's. Her fellow coach was there drowning her sorrows as well, but quickly took it upon herself to tell Callie how stupid she was acting. Bailey really let her have it and rightly so. "I didn't want to understand where you were coming from last night, because I wanted to spend the day with you and you alone. But that wasn't right or fair for me do. I guess I got used to us doing everything together and I didn't stop and think that you would want other experiences while you're here too. I'm not saying I want you hanging out with other people all the time, but I get it. Everyone needs friends outside of their relationship, and that's all you wanted today…the chance to make some friends before they were gone. I'm sorry I didn't see that last night. I was wrong to get upset and I was wrong to walk away from you."

Arizona could hear the sincerity in every word Callie and spoke and she was grateful to Bailey for explaining that to Callie when she couldn't last night. "Thank you Callie, that means the world to me to hear you say that and to know that you now understand where I was coming from. I'm sorry that I didn't handle that confrontation better either. I shouldn't have reacted so negatively to you offering to do something nice for me. However, I was hurt that you couldn't see that last night. Of course I want to do everything with you, Callie you are my girlfriend, and I'm pretty sure I am falling completely and totally in love with you, but I also need to have friends. So from this point out I'd really like it if we could do some things with friends and some things as just us. Would that be okay?"

Callie was speechless, Arizona just admitted that she was falling for her. After everything she'd done to hurt her last night, not only was she being forgiven but this amazing woman also loved her. "I'm falling in love with you too Arizona. I have been from the moment you wrote me that silly poem for our first date. I promise that we can go out with friends, or if you just want to go out with friends then I'm okay with that too. I overreacted and let my Latina temper get the best of me. It won't happen again, at least not like that again."

Arizona smiled, and even though it hurt like hell, she kept smiling because she was in love with Callie Torres and Callie Torres was in love with her. "Can you promise me one more thing?" She asked, hoping this request would prevent another sleepless, alone night.

"Anything for you baby."

Arizona laced their fingers together and then looked into the warm brown eyes of her girlfriend, "Promise you won't walk again. We can't talk things out if you're not there and I'd rather fight all night with you in the same room than spend another night alone, worrying about whether I still have a girlfriend or not."

Callie averted her eyes, ashamed for having done what she did. Embarrassed for leaving her girlfriend standing in the middle of a dark sidewalk, and feeling downright terrible for making her question the status of their relationship. "Arizona, I promise you that I will never walk away from you – from us – ever again. You have my word and my heart, and they aren't going anywhere."

"Kiss me, Calliope. Kiss me and tell me again that you aren't leaving me." And Callie did just that. She stood up from her chair beside the bed and tenderly kissed Arizona's bruised and splintered lips. It wasn't a lustful or passionate tryst they shared, but both women could feel the emotion being poured into it. The sincere apology, the promises, and most importantly the love, that's what they felt and that's what made them happy.

A clearing of a throat brought them out of their own world and back to reality. Callie removed her lips from Arizona's and offered her a sweet smile before turning to face whoever had just entered the room. "Richard…" Callie faintly whispered as the smile disappeared from her face in an instant. She knew that she had revealed to some of the group the extent of her and Arizona's relationship, but Richard was a whole different story.

"Callie" he acknowledged curtly. "I came to check on Robbins, I was informed of what happened and I needed to come by and check on her, but I see you had the same idea. Anyways, how are you feeling Arizona?" He asked, looking past the trainer and towards the blonde who rested in the bed.  
"I'm fine sir, nothing a little R&R can't heal. I'll be back in the gym in no time." She tried to sound as upbeat as possible, but frankly that man walking in on her and Callie kissing scared the shit out of her.

"Good to hear. I've talked to the board and we have agreed that you have two weeks to rest. Since you've been progressing the most in training and have won all of the challenges thus far, we are going to let you forgo the first week of eliminations, but come week 7 of training, if you can't fight then it will be you who is eliminated. Is that clear?"

Fear pulsed through Arizona's system. Two weeks? How could she fully heal a broken facial bone in two weeks? "Yes, sir. That sounds fair to me. I look forward to getting back in the ring soon." _I'm screwed_ was all she could think.

"Good. We look forward to having you back in the gym as well. And as for this…" he said, using his index finger to motion between the two women. "This will have to be discussed. Goodnight, ladies." And with that Richard Webber disappeared from room 507, leaving two in love women scared for what their future in Seattle and in this competition might hold.

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 **AN3: Hopefully that chapter was worth the wait? Don't be too critical on the medical jargon and all that. I'm just a amateur writer making stuff up...I ain't no doctor. I'll start working on chapter 18 but don't hold me to a definite release date, just enjoy the updates as the come.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: Some of the reviews have mentioned that having a Twitter helps you, as readers, connect with me, as an author. So I've decided to rename my Grey's twitter name to my author name. You can now find me on Twitter as palmettocalzona (I was tcalzona before today. That was short for Team Calzona, but I don't know if anyone reading this followed me as that?). I will try to post updates and pictures and such like some authors do, but most of all its a way for you to be able to connect with me should you so desire. Hope you like this update!**

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Chapter 18: _May 15th_

Callie spent the rest of her evening with Arizona in the small hospital room. The blonde wouldn't let her girlfriend out of her sights - well, sight really. Arizona's left eye was pretty much swollen shut, leaving her one good eye to see her girlfriend. The two women had spent much of the night talking about their fight the night before. All had been forgiven, but each woman wanted to explain their behavior and learn from their mistakes so that they didn't have another fight like that again.

At 10 pm, the doctor came in and informed Callie that visiting hours were over. After Arizona after begged and pleaded, and Callie maybe reminding the doctor of the importance of her last name, he relented and allowed the trainer to stay the night with a promise that she would not cause any trouble with the nurses who would be checking on Arizona throughout the night. Callie easily made that promise and then settled in next to her girlfriend, insisting on holding her close while she asked Arizona to tell her all about her day at the stadium, wanting to know about the fun the blonde had leading up to being knocked unconscious.

When Callie could hear Arizona's breathing slow and the blonde's grip on her shirt loosen, Callie knew she was asleep. Taking a moment to enjoy the serenity of having her girlfriend safe and in her arms, Callie came to a stark realization: Arizona was too special, too important, too _amazingly perfect_ to ever let go of her again. The way that the blonde complimented all of Callie's habits and moods, the way they could share their deepest desires and fears, the way that Arizona perfectly fit into her big spoon at night. Callie just knew she could never let her go, that no matter what they faced from this point on – they would face it together.

With that, Callie knew what she needed to do. She carefully slipped out of the twin sized bed and gently kissed the crown of Arizona's soft blonde hair. Then, Callie grabbed both her and Arizona's phone from the nightstand and tip-toed out into the hallway. Blankly staring at the black screen of Arizona's phone, Callie momentarily stood completely puzzled. _What's her passcode? I've never unlocked her phone before. Shit! Okay, Torres, think. Her birthday March 14, 1987; so lets try 0-3-1-4_. But Callie just watched as the icons shook with an incorrect input. _Nope. Okay, let's try the year 1-9-8-7._ But again, the little blanks where the code was to be filled just shook their heads 'No'. _What the fuck is your password babe? I only have two more guesses before I get locked out._ Taking some time to think about her girlfriend and what possible number combination Arizona could have used to keep her phone under lock and key, Callie decided to light up the background so she again see the picture the two of them had taken together on their first date at Oak. Smiling when she saw the sparkle in Arizona's cobalt eyes, Callie reflected on how perfect that dinner had been. _Oh I got it! Our first date was on May 15!_ Callie's fingers typed away as she muttered the date to herself "Zero, five, one, five. Yes, I'm in!" Finally having her girlfriend's iPhone unlocked, Callie pulled up the 'favorites' list under contacts and tapped on the icon that read MOM. She realized it was after midnight on the East coast, but this phone call wasn't just important, it was necessary.

On the fourth ring, just as Callie was about give up, she heard a groggy voice come through on the other end of the line. "Hel- Hello, Arizona, honey what's wrong? I know something's wrong if you're calling me this late."

Callie froze once again, this was not the ideal way for her to introduce herself to her girlfriend's family, but she knew that Arizona would never have made this call and the blonde would need her family to get her through this next week. Starting first thing the next morning, Callie's job was going to take her back to the gym and away from her injured partner. There's no way she could leave without knowing that Arizona was going to be in good hands. Finally finding her voice, Callie spoke to Barbara Robbins for the first time, "Hello, Ms. Robbins? Hi, I know you don't know me, but my name is Callie Torres and I'm…"

"You're my Arizona's girlfriend! Oh Callie, it's so great to hear your voice, to finally sort of meet you! How are you? How is Arizona? Wait, where is Arizona? Why are you calling me on her phone? Oh God, is she okay? Callie, what's wrong with my little girl?"

 _Wow, she's good. I've said nothing besides my name and she's already got the situation figured out. Here goes nothing, I suppose._ "Arizona is okay, that I can promise you. However she did have a little bit of an accident today while at a baseball this afternoon."

Sitting up in her bed across the country, Barbara's sleepy mind was trying to put together the pieces of information Callie was giving her. "A baseball game? What the hell was she doing at a baseball game? She's there to practice her craft of boxing, not catch a game!"

Feeling a little guilty for outing her girlfriend Callie quickly explained that their boss had gifted the tickets to the competitors for a day bonding. Once Callie had filled Barbara in on all the details of the game, the incident, and the subsequent surgery there was no need to even ask her to get on the flight out because Barbara insisted she would be there as soon as she could anyway.

"I'll wake her brother up now and we will head straight to the airport. I'm sure we can still catch a red-eye out to Seattle, at least I hope we can. Oh, Callie, thank you so much for calling me. You know how stubborn Arizona can be, I just know she wouldn't have said anything until after she had healed."

Callie was proud of herself for making the right decision in calling Barbara. Arizona might be slightly upset with for going behind her back and doing this, but in the end it was definitely right thing to do. "You're welcome. And here, let me give you my cell number so you can reach me if you need to. I look forward to meeting you when you get here, Ms. Robbins."

"Me too, dear, but please call me Barbara. Timothy and I will be there just as fast as we can. I'll let you know when we land, okay?"

"Okay. Goodbye." Callie stated, pushing the red 'end call' button on the screen. One call down, one to go. She had saved the harder call for last and seriously thought about putting off even longer. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't do that to Arizona. So she reached into the back pocket of her jeans and swapped Arizona's phone for her own and pulled up her contacts searching for aptly named, yet absolutely intimidating: Boss Man.

Richard Webber sat in the study of his penthouse mulling over paperwork. Today had been one for the record books. He'd never had one of his competitors get hurt before and he'd never had to come face to face with a potential relationship between people he was responsible for. As he sat and poured over the insurance papers in front of him, searching for any answers on how to handle Arizona's injury he heard his phone ringing from underneath one of many stacks of paper. "Callie, hello. Is everything okay at the hospital?" He asked with concern riddled in his voice. He didn't want Arizona's condition worsening overnight. He knew she was the strongest competitor there and he had vouched for her in front of the board in an attempt to give her as much recovery time as possible.

"Yes sir, Arizona is doing fine. She's sleeping right now actually. But, umm, she _is_ why I am calling." Callie tried to keep her voice as even keeled as she could, but inside her nerves were shot. "I'm sure walking in on us today was a complete surprise, and I want to apologize for not coming to you and explaining the nature of Arizona and I's relationship as soon as it became that. But, to be fair sir, it all happened so quickly that I really didn't have time to think about the repercussions of keeping it a secret."

"Torres…"

"And sir, I know that it might reflect poorly on me to be in a relationship with a competitor, but it's not like we signed a contract saying that we weren't allowed to have relationships."

"Torres, it's…", but Richard couldn't get a word in edgewise with the Latina's mouth running a mile a minute trying to justify her newly established relationship.

"Aaand, it's not like she is using me for an advantage. We don't even talk about boxing when we're together and she only trains with Bailey in the gym. I told her I didn't feel comfortable working one-on-one with her because I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. Arizona agreed with that decision and also says that none of the other women are even concerned about our relationship. So, sir, with all due respect…" This time is was Callie's turn to get cut off mid sentence.

"TORRES!" Richard yelled into the receiver. "It's fine. You and Arizona are fine and you can continue your relationship without having to worry about anyone forcing you two apart."

Standing in the middle of a starch white hallway, smelling faintly of a strong cleaning solution, Callie was speechless. She had planned and counted on having a long, drawn out, argument complete with some harsh language and yelling in Spanish, but she had just been told that everything was okay. "Seriously? It's okay that she's my girlfriend?"

"Yes, it is okay. To say that it came a surprise to me would be an understatement, and if I'm being honest, I had every intention of handing down some serious punishment because in any other situation a relationship such as yours would be forbidden. However, when I went down to the lobby and called an emergency meeting with the three other trainers, it was revealed to me that it's not just you maintaining a relationship with a competitor."

Again, Callie was speechless. "Oh?"

"Yes, apparently Derek is dating Meredith, Bailey is dating Ben Warren, and Sloan is sleeping with both Addison and Lexie Grey. Don't ask me how that's going to work out, because I don't want to know. What I do know is that while I don't necessarily condone you four's behavior – there is nothing wrong with continuing your relationship."

Relief swept over Callie like waves against the sand. Ever since Richard had caught them in the act and in turn found out about her and Arizona's relationship, she'd been fearing the worst. Her job and her legacy were on the line, and Arizona's place in the competition and future in the boxing ring could've been jeopardized. She really needed to remember to thank the other trainers for revealing their relationships to Webber, they could've unknowingly saved her and Arizona's relationship.

"That being said, however, you are still responsible for being at the gym first thing tomorrow morning. Just because Arizona is out for a while doesn't mean you can neglect your job and your responsibilities. Is that clear, Torres?" Webber returned to authoritative tone, letting his employee know that he still meant business even though he had gone soft on the idea of falling in love.

Still reeling from the sudden change in perspective her boss had had, Callie gladly agreed to maintaining her responsibilities and then bid her boss goodnight so that she could return to her conked out girlfriend. Upon reentering the room, Callie took a moment to really study the damage the ricocheted bat had done to her beautiful blonde's face.

Purple bruising had set in all around Arizona's left eye, which was still swelling. There were three sets of stitches on the left side of her face as well. Three in her eyebrow that had closed up a nasty gash, six or seven along her jawline where the doctor had gone into to repair her shattered cheekbone, and three more along the side of her nose that were also a product of getting hit. Her lip had been busted open and there was still dried blood in her pretty blonde hair. Even with all of that going on, Callie still thought she was beautiful. No amount of blood or stitches could ever take away the natural beauty Arizona possessed.

Callie couldn't fathom how she'd gotten so lucky. Sliding back into the bed next to her snoozing girlfriend, she heard her phone ding with an incoming text.

 **Tim and I just boarded our flight. Scheduled to land in Seattle about 7 am. Thank you again for calling, see you both soon! –Barbara**

After setting her alarm, Callie typed out a quick response to her girlfriend's mom.

 **That is great news, I don't have to be at the gym until 7:30. Hopefully I will see you at the hospital before I have to leave. Arizona is sleeping now, and I am staying with her tonight. She will be happy to have you here. Talk soon! –Callie**

With that, Callie set her phone back on the side table she had taken it from hours ago and curled up against her partner. "Goodnight, sleep tight baby." She whispered gently kissing all three injured spots on Arizona's face before lying her head down on the pillow. As Callie drifted off to sleep that night she again thought about how lucky she was to have such an incredible woman in her arms.

* * *

A light knock on the door stirred Callie from her surprisingly restful sleep. Something about sleeping with Arizona, despite the circumstances, always brought the Latina comfort. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Callie focused on four figures walking through the door of Arizona's hospital room. The first was the doctor who performed her surgery yesterday, Dr. Jones. The second person through the door was Richard, and the last two – though Callie had never seen them before – had to be Barbara and Tim because both had sets of crystal blue eyes that matched Arizona's. The older woman was dressed in gray linen pants and salmon pink hoodie, clearly just having thrown on something quick and comfortable for a long, unplanned flight West. Her shoulder length graying, blonde hair was pulled into a clip and worry was written all over her face. Tim just looked like a walking zombie. His tired eyes barely able to stay open and awake long enough to get through the door and find the nearest chair. Tim had on a Redskins sweatshirt and a pair of khaki shorts, giving Callie the chance to see his prosthetic limb for the first time.

"Morning Callie. How did you two fair overnight?" Dr. Jones asked

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, really wishing she'd set her alarm for earlier giving her time to get presentable before guests arrived, Callie sat up on the bed and offered the new faces in the room a polite smile. "Uh, we were good. She slept through the night – surprisingly so did I – and as you can see she hasn't stirred yet this morning." Then shifting her attention to Barbara and Tim, Callie rose off the bed and extended a hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Callie. Its, umm…it's nice to meet you. Granted I wish it were under different circumstances, but still…it's an honor to meet Arizona's mom and brother. She speaks so highly of both of you." Callie prayed she was making a good enough first impression and was really hoping that Arizona would wake up. _Anytime now babe, feel free to open those eyes I love so much and help your girl out here._

"Timothy! Stand up and greet this lovely woman!" Barbara implored of her son, who had already made it his mission to fall back asleep. "Callie, it is so wonderful to meet you. Arizona has told Tim and I so little about you, but I just know you two have something special going on here. Call it a mother's intuition maybe, but I can just tell. TIMOTHY!" She again called out to her sleeping son, but Barbara's voice wasn't able to just bring her son out of his dream state as Arizona's eyes shot open at the familiarity of her mother's stern voice.

"Mmo- Mom? What're you doing here…in Seattle? Wait, I am still in Seattle, right?" Arizona's level of confusion was through the roof. The goofy pain meds they had her on rendered her mind quite void of the events of the last 12 or so hours. As her vision became clearer, Arizona noted that there were five other bodies standing around her, all 10 of their eyes hesitantly searching the blonde's face for signs of recognition. When her blue eyes met the chocolate orbs she so longed to see, a dimpled smile broke out. "Callie, I love you. You called them didn't you?" A simple nod of her girlfriend's head let Arizona know the truth. "Thank you so much baby. Come here, please?" Without hesitation, Callie acquiesced and allowed her girlfriend to tenderly kiss her lips before she pulled away. The last thing she wanted to do was to allow their kiss to rev up in front of all these people, especially Richard and Barbara.

Dr. Jones hated to break up the love fest slash reunion that was currently taking place in the room, however he had rounds to perform and was entering the last hour of his 36 hour on-call shift, so break it up he did. "Arizona? How're you feeling this morning? Can you follow the light with your eyes?" He asked while shining his pen light directly into her field of vision and then slowly moving left and right then up and down.

"I feel pretty good, little bit of a headache and of course my cheek is pretty sore. All in all, though, I'm happy it was nothing more serious."

Nodding his head in agreement, the doctor slipped on a pair of gloves and gently applied pressure to the stitched areas on Arizona's face, making sure that the sutures were holding properly. "Yes, you are quite lucky, a few inches higher and that bat could've permanently damaged the vision in your left eye. I can already tell you're healing nicely, I think we will keep you one more night for observation. Just to be sure there's no residual bleeding inside, though your scans last night looked great. We will also keep you on a steady dose of painkiller to help with that headache and soreness, but as the day goes on we will try and tapper it off. Do any of you have any questions for me right now?" When the doctor was met with five blank stares he informed everyone that Doctor Adamson would be in later that day and that he would know every detail of Arizona's case so they didn't need to worry. Then he said goodbye to everyone and left the room.

Webber was next to speak his mind. "Arizona, I'm glad you're feeling better. I've briefly spoken to your mom and brother this morning and the three of us agree that you are to take it easy these next two weeks. Don't tell anyone, I mean anyone, that I'm saying this, but I've got you pegged to take home the championship and if you're even going to be able to compete for it, then we've got to get you healthy. You understand?"

Smiling ear to ear despite the white hot, burning pain stinging her face Arizona couldn't help but eagerly agree. "Yes sir, I understand. I'll be the best patient ever if it means getting back in the ring in two weeks and kicking this competition's ass!"

"Arizona Robbins, language young lady!" Barbara scolded causing Arizona's cheeks to redden and Tim and Callie to snicker. "And that's enough you two." Barbara flicked her index finger between the elder Robbins sibling and the brunette. "No need to encourage her."

Richard shifted uncomfortably on his feet, feeling like he should've been scolded by the authoritative yet honestly sweet woman. "Good, good. Well I better get going, need to be at the gym soon to give everyone an update on your condition and let them know that just because you aren't there, they can slack off. I'll be by to check in later. Oh, and Callie…take the day off. I talked to Bailey this morning and she insisted you spend the day making sure Arizona is okay and I agree. Okay, you four be good and I'll see you later." With that, Richard followed in Dr. Jones' footsteps and quietly left room, leaving just the three Robbins' and Callie.

Arizona was first to break the silence, "Thank you for coming out mom."

Barbara took a few steps toward the hospital bed her daughter laid in and gently brushed the back of her hand against the uninjured side of Arizona's face. "Oh, you're welcome sweetheart. Tim and I wouldn't be anywhere else, though, if it wasn't for Callie here I'm not sure we would even know that you had been hurt. Am I right?" The silence that met Barbara's ears was answer enough. "Mmhmm, that's what I thought." Barbara then turned to her son, "Have you even said hello to your sister, Timothy?"

Shuffling his feet closer to his sister Tim greeted her like any big brother would do, "Zona, has anyone told you that you look like crap?" Both siblings laughed while Barbara just shook her had at her son's antics. "Seriously, though Zona, I'm glad you're doing okay. Mom scared the crap out of me last night, waking me up and yelling at me to get on a plane."

"I'm glad you're here Timmy. It means a lot, and it means a lot that my amazing girlfriend had the presence of mind to call my family. I didn't know it yet, but I needed you guys here." Barbara and Tim then took their turns asking questions and finding out all the details concerning what had happened the day before. Callie helped to fill in some of the blanks where Arizona had difficulty remembering, but both women made sure to leave out the part where they were fighting leading up to the now infamous incident at the game.

When Arizona got to the part in the story where Richard had walked in on her and Callie kissing the night before, the blonde froze. "Wait, Callie! Richard was pissed last night, and this morning he seemed, I don't know…fine with us being together. What the heck happened while I was out last night?"

Callie stood from the chair she had planted herself in while she sat back and listen to the family of three catch up. "Well, I uh – I kinda called Richard last night after I spoke to your mom."

"Callie!" Arizona exclaimed. "Please tell me you didn't throw your name around as a threat."

Rolling her eyes at Arizona's unfiltered mouth, "I'm gonna let that slide on account of you being doped up on morphine, but no I didn't use the Torres name. I simply told him that there were no written rules that we were breaking and that we would keep the competition out of our relationship. Well, it turns out that Bailey and Derek are both dating competitors and apparently Mark is dating two of them…though I don't think the women know that." She giggled as she thought about Mark's girls finding out about each other. But when Callie redirected her attention to her girlfriend, she saw a tear rolling down her bruised cheek. "Aww, babe! What's wrong? Are you in pain? Do you want me to get a nurse?" The brunette turned to go find an attendant, but a hand reaching out and grabbing her own forced her stop.

"You did that? For me? You called Richard Webber and told him all that for me?"

Callie reached out and ever so gently wiped away the fallen tear, being extra careful not to hurt Arizona's battered cheek. "Of course I did sweetheart, I love you."

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 **AN2: That's all for Chapter 18! I hope you liked it and I hope you like how the story is unfolding. I've got an idea of what will happen in the next chapter, but I've got a busy weekend coming up so I doubt I will be doing any writing. So, I'll write when I can and post when I can and tweet when I can. Reviews motivate me but then again so do rainy days...okay. bye till next time!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN: Thank you to everyone for being patient as I got this chapter written, edited, and finally posted. It was mainly the Olympics that slowed me down as every night when I got home from work instead of grabbing my computer and hammering out a couple paragraphs - I turned on the TV and watched Michael Phelps kick ass and take names.** **Anyways now that they're over I got chapter 19 written and posted in 3 days, so that's good right?**

 **AN2: I'm gonna be real for second... college football starts next week (praise the lord!) If there is anything in this world that I love more than a good Calzona fic - it's college football. That being said, I can already tell you with nearly 100% certainty that chapter updates will come more slowly. I will apologize ahead of time for that, but I feel like I need to be honest with my readers. That does not mean that I am abandoning or giving up on this story - y'all spoke and I listened...you want this story to go on and as long as you're enjoying it, it will live. Just be advised that updates have the potential to be slow and sporadic. I mean come on! It's football and it's on Thursday nights, Friday nights and then ALL DAY SATURDAY! Who's got two thumbs and overly excited about college football? That's right, this girl! Okay enjoy chapter 19!**

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Chapter 19: _Battleship_

"F-8."

"Hit." Tim said as he reached into a small dish containing red pegs and filled the last empty spot on his ship. "Damnit Zona, you sunk my air craft carrier." He and Arizona had spent the last two hours playing game after game of _Battleship._ It was something the two had done growing up when one or the other was sick. Barbara had her wits about her enough to grab the old tattered game box from the toy closet before she and Tim rushed out of their Virginia home a handful of nights ago.

"Ha! Sucker, I win again!" Arizona exclaimed throwing her hands above her head in an over exaggerated celebration. "But on a serious note, thanks for playing with me Tim. I know after the first couple of games you were pretty much over it, but it means a lot that my big brother isn't too good for an afternoon of our favorite game."

Tim looked over the top of his game board to his sister. Arizona had been released from the hospital first thing Tuesday morning and it was now Thursday afternoon. The swelling had finally started to go down around her eye, nose, and cheek but the deep bruising had really set in. Nearly half of her face was a dark, eggplant color purple with some yellowing around the stitch site. Though, that was good, it meant those areas were healing nicely.

"You don't have to thank me for doing what any good big brother would do. Besides, I'm pretty sure you played this game with me for a week straight when I was recovering from the explosion." Tim glanced down at the metal and hard plastic limb protruding from the bottom opening of his navy blue shorts. It had been about two years since the explosion in Afghanistan and he was finally starting to accept what he saw when he looked down at his legs.

Smiling, though the memory of what Tim had gone through upon returning home was pure hell, Arizona let out a sigh of contentment. "Ha, yea that is true! But, let's take a break, I'm getting kinda hungry and I'd like to try and eat something other than applesauce and mashed potatoes that mom's been feeding me."

Barbara had been nothing short of a helicopter parent the last few days. Her motherly instincts kicked in the moment she laid eyes on her injured daughter and she'd gone into overdrive with the efforts to take care of Arizona. Fluffing her pillows, fetching her blankets – well calling the maid service and requesting more blankets even though the hotel room they were staying in felt more like an oven than icebox.

Seeing that Arizona's family was staying Seattle to assist her, Callie had managed to pull some strings at another one of her father's downtown hotels. Now the tight-knit family of three was staying on the top floor of The Seattle Grande Hotel. It was much nicer than the Embassy Suites where she had been staying for the competition and she briefly wondered why Callie didn't live here instead. _Maybe being a part of the competition is more important to her than the money? God I hope so, how much more amazing would that make her? She's just kind of perfect!_

"Hello…? Earth to Zona!" Tim's deep voice was piercing her daydream bubble.

Gently shaking her head to clear the thoughts of Callie from it, Arizona's focus shifted back to her brother who was sitting across from her at the kitchen table. "Hmm, yea what's up?"

"You were thinking about her weren't you?" He half joked, half honestly inquired.

Feeling a slight blush rise to her cheeks, Arizona shifted her gaze down and then back up to Tim. "Yea, I was." A smile now working it's way to her features, "I just can't _not_ think about her Timmy. She's so kind and caring, I mean look at this place!" Arizona lifted her hands and gestured around the vast expanse of her temporary new home. "We all have our own rooms, there's a kitchen, a dining room, hell there's even a fireplace. A FIREPLACE, TIM! And do we have to shell out the $650 a night that this place goes for? Nope, because my amazing girlfriend and her equally as amazing father have taken care of it."

Tim nearly choked on the air in his mouth, "$650 per night? Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Nope." Arizona vehemently shook her head, "I googled it."

Tim took a long look around the massive expanse of their accommodations, soaking in the lavish décor and stately furnishings. Then he leaned over the table and nervously whispered to his sister, "They aren't in the Mafia, are they?"

Arizona barked out in laughter, "No Tim! Callie is not part of the Mafia and her father is not some kind of Mob Boss. Though, I'm totally telling her that you said that!"

"Then what the hell do they do? And should I at all be worried at all?"

Arizona rolled her eyes at her brother's continued, but probably feigned ignorance. "Seriously, Tim? No. You don't have to worry. Her father owns the hotel, that's how come we can stay here. Actually, he owns a lot of hotels. Think about every place we've ever stayed on a trip…" She trailed off, allowing Tim to put the pieces together himself.

"No! Are you serious?"

Nodding, Arizona flatly replied, "Yup. Every hotel we've every stayed in, in all the places we've ever been, has been a part of The Torres Hotel Company."

Tim shook his head in utter disbelief. His sister had managed to snag one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the country. "Damn, Zona. You need to wife her up, ASAP."

Arizona stood in a hurry, flipping the chair had occupied backwards. In one quick and fluid motion, Arizona cocked her fist back and slugged Tim's upper arm with force enough to send him and his chair skidding backwards across the hardwood floor. "It's not like that AT ALL, Timothy." She was fuming, her face was reddening and if it were possible, there would have been steam coming from her ears. "I met and took her on a date long before she admitted her wealth and family history. I love her for the genuine, kind, caring, and beautiful person that she is, not because of how many zero's are in her bank account. So don't ever, I mean EVER insinuate that it's anything less that. Got it?"

Still rubbing his shoulder where he had caught the right hook from his sister, Tim looked at Arizona with sorrowful eyes. He realized how insensitive his comments had been and he hated himself in that moment for upsetting his sister on that level. "Zona, I'm sorry. I know you care about her and I can tell she truly cares about you. I never meant to upset you like that. Of course I know that you're not with her for her money, mom and dad raised us better than that. Forgive me?"

Letting out a ragged breath, her brother's comments had really struck a chord within her, but she could tell that he was sorry. "Of course I forgive you, Tim, you are my brother after all. But, don't let it happen again, and definitely don't act weird around Callie now that you know."

"Know what?" Barbara appeared in the kitchen after taking a quick nap while her children played their board game and rekindled their sibling bond.

"Nothing." Came Arizona's quick reply. Though it was overshadowed by Tim's louder, more honest answer.

"That Callie and her family are like gazillionaires who own pretty much every hotel in the world." Tim jeered, knowing his sister was lining up another quick and hard hit to his shoulder. "Ouch! Shit, I forget how hard you can hit."

Barbara stared down her son first for his slip of the tongue in her presence, but second for revealing the truth about Callie. When Arizona was ready for her to know the truth, then she would reveal it to her mother. "Tim, that was very rude of you to do. I'm sure Arizona would've told me when she was ready. However, now that the cat is out of the bag…Is that true Arizona? Is that how we are staying here?"

Letting out a huff of frustration that also sort of also felt like a sigh of relief now that everything was out in the open, Arizona just stared into the two pair of blue eyes in front of her, "Yes mom, it's true. Callie is not only a wonderfully accomplished boxing champion, but she and her sister are also heiresses to the Torres Hotel Company. But it's really not that big of a deal, okay? So can we just move on and get to the part where you ask me how wonderful she is?"

And with that the three of them sat down at the table and Arizona started to tell her mom and brother the story of her and Callie's relationship, from the poem she wrote to go along with the flowers to the lazy evenings they spend envisioning their futures together.

Sure, Arizona knew it was pretty early into their relationship to be thinking about the long term future together, but everything with Callie is just so natural and easy and wonderful. Their wants and desires are in line with each others, both envisioning an eventual marriage and house full of children, hectic schedules and carting kids all over town to make soccer or basketball practice, a dance recital, or whatever else their future children might get into. So really, how could they not begin to talk about a life together beyond the competition?

When Arizona finished recounting her love story with Callie, Tim and her mom just sat smiling and teary eyed, respectively. Tim was so happy for his sister, he knew what she'd gone through growing up – while he and his family had never had a problem with her being gay, there were a lot of people who did have a problem with that. Specifically the people they came across at all the bases where their father was stationed. The other kids were ruthless towards Arizona who simply wanted to fit in with everyone else. And it's not that she was flaunting it around the bases, but she also wasn't going to hide who she was for the sake of making other people feel comfortable.

Barbara too knew her daughter's struggles and the tears in her eyes were those of joy. Simple and pure joy. From the moment she had walked into the hospital room three days prior, she could feel the connection that Callie and her daughter shared and it was real and deep. It was the kind of heartwarming feeling she used to get when her late husband walked into the room. It was an all-consuming, passionate, and authentic feeling that she could feel in her bones. Whether Arizona truly realized yet or not, Barbara knew that Callie Torres was it for her.

* * *

The next day was a bad day for Arizona. She had a check up at the hospital that Callie couldn't make because of training and the stitches that she hoped to get removed that day were still firmly laced into the side and front of her face. Not to mention the bruising was now all yellow leaving her face an ugly shade of chartreuse, aka gross. She didn't want to be seen in public and she especially didn't want Callie seeing her like this. So as soon as she got back from the doctor with her mom, Arizona retreated to her bedroom where she remained holed up for the rest of the afternoon.

Her brother had tried to bribe her with a game of Battleship and her mother had whipped up some shrimp and grits for her, but Arizona's door continued to stay locked, even into the late evening hours. Eventually she stopped grunting and groaning when either Tim or Barbara would knock, and she had put her phone on "Do Not Disturb" mode because between the two of them, they were texting her non-stop begging her to come out of her room and be social. That led them to believe that Arizona had simply fallen asleep and was down for the night.

At about 9:15 that night, Tim sat quietly on the couch in the living room watching re-runs of Criminal Minds while Barbara compiled a grocery list in the kitchen. After Arizona's doctor's appointment had gone so poorly, she and Tim had decided to stay another week in Seattle and help get Arizona back on her feet for good. Both of them nearly jumped out of their skin when a shrill knock on the door cut through the silence between them.

"Who the heck is that?" Tim composed his nerves enough to ask. No one knew them in Seattle so they were both at a loss as to who would be knocking on their door at this time of night.

Barbara was reluctant to get up and answer the door. She'd watched a _Dateline_ special about hotel killers posing at bellhops in order to gain access to the women and their jewelry. "I don't know, but Timothy you answer it. And look through the peephole first! If it's a bellboy – tell him we didn't order anything and to go away!"

Tim got up from the couch, snickering to himself at his mother's anxious rambling. As he approached the door, whoever was on the other side knocked again, this time a louder, more harsh knock than the first. "Alright, alright. Hold your horses, I'm coming…geeze!" After a quick glance through the peephole, a broad smile appeared on his face bringing out the trademark Robbins' dimples. Tim slid the chain open and unlocked the deadbolt so he could open the door.

"Tim, who is it?" Barbara's shaky voice came from the kitchen.

But before he could answer, a very worried looking Latina made her way into their hotel suite muttering incomprehensible phrases in Spanish. "Dónde está ella? Se encuentra ella bien? La he estado llamando durante horas ahora, pero ella no está respondiendo" Callie was shaking her phone in her hand indicating to the two blondes standing before her that all her rambling had something to do with a cell phone. She continued pacing the floor in front of the fireplace until she felt two soft hands grab her shoulders and pull her in to comforting hug.

"Callie," Barbara's voice had gone from shaky to soothing when she realized how distraught the person on the other side of the door was. "Take a breath." Barbara coaxed Callie into a steadying breathe by taking one herself. "In through your nose, hold it. Okay, slowly out through your mouth. Another one." This time she watched as Callie repeated the process. When all the air had been expunged, Barbara once again spoke. "Now, tell me what's wrong. I can tell something's got your panties in a twist, but unfortunately neither Tim nor I speak that mumbo jumbo Spanish you came in here speaking."

After having visibly calmed down a little, Callie attempted to gather her thoughts. "I just need to know where she is and if she's okay? I have been trying to call her but she won't answer. I know she had her doctor's appointment earlier and she's all I have been able to think about today. I don't even know how it went because she won't respond to me. Did I do something wrong? Has she talked to you guys?" Tears welled up, clouding the brunette's vision of two sympathetic faces. "Does, does she not want me anymore?"

Tim just hung his head. Of course his sister would find a way to screw this up. If Arizona wasn't so busy throwing herself a pity party, she would see the hurt she has caused the woman she claims to love.

Again it was Barbara's voice of reason that cut through the silence the three of them shared. "Oh honey, no. It's nothing like that, I promise you. Arizona got some unfavorable news today at the doctor and decided to shut us out, apparently that meant shutting you out too. We haven't seen or heard from her since we got back from the hospital this afternoon."

A wave of relief flooded Callie's features. While it was still concerning that her girlfriend had chosen to shut her out, it was beyond satisfying to know Arizona wasn't trying to leave her. However, something Barbara had said did raise a red flag in Callie's mind. "Unfavorable news? What did they say?"

Barbara just looked at the floor, her hopes had been so high for her daughter today that the news cut into her almost as badly as it had with Arizona. Tim realized his mother wasn't going to be able to explain without crying herself, so he took the liberty in explaining the situation to Callie. "They couldn't remove the stitches today." Callie's heart sank. "Zona really thought they were going to come out today and she was going to surprise you at the gym where she could do a light workout with group. No body contact of course, but she was really looking forward to some weight lifting and treadmill work. Anyway, Dr. Jones said that the stitches, especially the ones where they had to cut to fix her cheekbone, needed a couple more days to do their job."

Callie was putting everything together in her mind. She knew how her blonde would've reacted to that news because it's the same way she would've taken it: not well. "So, I'm guessing when you got back here she went to her room and that's where she's been ever since?" Callie watched two heads sullenly nod. Only now, now that Callie really looked at Tim and Barbara could she tell just how defeated they looked. Clearly Arizona had taken her frustrations out on them and the two Robbins' had no fight left in them. They didn't know how to get through to Arizona, to let her know that just because she had to wait a couple more days to get the stitches out, didn't mean it was the end of the world. "Should I try to talk to her? I could try and get through to her, make her see that everything will be okay."

Tim just smirked, while he applauded Callie's willingness to try, he knew his sister too well. "Good luck with that! Last time I went to room and tried to talk some sense into her she threw something against the door that landed with a loud crash. I think it was just the TV remote, but I can't be certain."

Barbara echoed Tim's sentiments, "Unfortunately dear, when Arizona gets stuck it's up to her to change her tune. No matter how much we press, beg, and plead with her – she just has to come out of it on her own accord. Besides, I'm almost positive she's asleep now. We used to hear agitated screams of frustration every now and then, but she's been awfully silent for the last hour or so." Barbara got up from the couch where she and Callie had found refuge while Tim explained the precarious situation they were all now in, and walked back into the kitchen where she had been working on a pot of coffee. It was going to be a long night and she and Tim were going to need back up. "Would you like a cup of coffee, Callie? I was just about to get some going before you arrived. Perhaps we could talk a little and get to know each other a little better. What do you say?"

 _This is it,_ Callie thought. _This is my audition, my test, my opportunity to officially win them over and prove to them that I am worthy of dating Arizona. That I want to be with her, not just now but forever. I can do this, I'm ready for this._ "Yes ma'am, I would love that."

An hour and 3 cups of coffee later, Callie had explained her life story to Barbara and Tim. Everything from growing up in Miami and wanting to be a figure skater, to her pursuit into boxing, and most recently the drama with Erica and her conversation she had with her parents about being bisexual. Tim had fallen asleep somewhere in between her first and second boxing championships, but Barbara sat straight up completely captivated by the Latina's backstory and rise to fame.

It wasn't until Callie got to the part where she and Arizona met and subsequently started dating that Barbara politely interrupted to ask her a few 'motherly' questions. "Why don't you think it worked out with Erica?"

 _Oh boy, jumping right into it. Bring it, Barb._ "Erica was all about herself. She never thought about what I might need or want out of a relationship. Granted at this point neither of us was out yet, but she demanded that the only time we got to be 'us' was when we were in the confines of my room at the hotel. Looking back it was utterly ridiculous that I went along with that. So when she got eliminated from the competition it was kind of a blessing in disguise. Sure it hurt like hell, but in the end I know it was for the best. She would have never treated like I deserve. I guess the one good thing about my relationship with her, is that it got me to confront my feelings and gave me the courage to talk to my parents about my sexuality"

"Well Callie, I must say that's a well thought out answer. I applaud you for not only your honesty, but for your maturity in handling that situation. Instead of running and hiding from who you are after a failed relationship, you embraced it. Not many people would do that, but you did. Do you mind if I ask you another question?"

Smiling inside at the compliment she received, Callie's exterior features remained stoic and confident. "Of course, ask away Ms. Robbins."

Barbara leaned forward and set her coffee mug down on the small table in front of the sofa. "Calliope, what are your intentions with my daughter? Is she another Erica to you or is she something more. And please, call me Barbara." Barbara was certain she already knew the answer to this, but she needed to hear it come from Callie before she really let herself believe it.

Callie took a steadying breath. _This is it; this is my final test before they fully trust me with Arizona's heart and soul._ "Ms. Robb- Barbara, to say I was apprehensive about dating Arizona would be an understatement. Given what had happened with Erica, how could I not have doubts? But all of that changed the moment I received my first invitation to dinner. The care and effort she put into just _asking_ me to dinner, well I knew she was different. Then there was the actual date, she was so generous, opening doors for me and insisting that I take the lead. She did everything possible to make me feel comfortable. She wasn't afraid to take my hand, to show affection in public, to let the world know how proud she was to have me on her arm – and it's been that way ever since. I've always believed that there was someone out there for me. That sooner or later they would make their way to me and I would be so ready to jump in with both feet. That person, my person, is Arizona. I know it's only been a few weeks, but when we are together nothing else matters. She goes above and beyond to prove that she listens and cares about the things I say, she knows all of my likes and dislikes, she makes me want to be a better person for her. I'd do anything and I'd give her everything just to make her as happy as she has made me." Callie then steeled her nerves for the last part of her emotional and heartfelt declaration. This was the part she truly needed Barbara and Tim, who had woken up at some point during her grand speech, to hear. "I love the sound of her voice when she's just waking up in the morning, I love the way she steals all the covers at night, I love how she googles everything even if she's pretty sure she already knows the answer, I love that she's not afraid to admit when she's wrong, I love her bubbly personality, I love how much she genuinely cares about those around her even if she is competing against them, I love her honesty, but most of all I love her. I am one hundred and ten percent head over heels in love with your daughter and I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. Yes, we've had arguments and I don't for one second think that we won't have them in the future, but I know what we share is so real and so one-of-a-kind that I will never take it for granted. I promise you and I promise her that I will never walk away from this, that I will always be there for her and I will love her for the rest of my life."

Barbara and Tim sat staring wide-eyed and motionless. Barbara was expecting a speech, but damn that was something else. Callie Torres had just blown her away with her words and all at once her suspicions that Arizona had found her soul mate were confirmed.

Then, the quiet _click_ of a lock turning drew all of their eyes away from each other and towards the dark hallway. Arizona appeared with fresh tears in her eyes and wet trails cascading down her cheeks. "Did you – Callie, did you mean all of that?" she stuttered out in between ragged breathes.

Callie was now standing and slowly making her way to her crying girlfriend. When she reached her destination she pulled Arizona into a warm and loving embrace and whispered into her ear. "I meant every word of that sweetheart. You are beautiful inside and out and I find myself falling more and more in love with you every single day. No amount of stitches or bruises could ever take that away from us. I love you, Arizona Robbins."

Arizona leaned out of their embrace so that she could cradle Callie's face between her hands. "And I love you too, Calliope Torres. I'm sorry that I went MIA today, I was just so excited to come and see you and then when the doctor told me that I wasn't cleared for any physical activity yet, I just lost it. I was selfish and inconsiderate today and I am so, so sorry." Shifting her attention to her mom and brother Arizona addressed the other elephant in the room. "I'm sorry for being a royal pain in the butt today. Neither of you deserved that and I promise it won't happen again. Also mom, thank you for making my favorite shrimp and grits for me, maybe we could have them for breakfast tomorrow instead?"

"Of course darling, and apology accepted. Your brother and I knew you'd come around sooner or later." Barbara then shifted her blue eyes to meet Callie's brown ones. "Thank you for the lovely conversation this evening, I'm so happy to have you as a part of this family now. Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to head to bed. Tim, I think it's time we leave these two alone, I think they'll want to have some privacy." With that, the two elder Robbins' left the living room and went to their respective bedrooms, leaving Callie and Arizona alone on the couch. After some more whispered apologies and 'I love you's' were said, all that could be heard were quiet moans of satisfaction as the women took to heart the definition of kiss and make-up.

* * *

 **AN3: Yay! Callie passed Barb's test! After I had surgery a couple of years ago my brother really did stay home with me and play game after game of Battleship instead of going out with his friends, so that's where my inspiration for this chapter came from. Hope 19 was worth the wait, look out for ch 20 sometime in the *hopefully near* future! PS- feel free to let me know whatcha think about where the story is headed...I've got a surprise coming soon so be prepared!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN1: _Patience - noun- the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset._ You, my lovely readers, have exhibited the utmost patience with this story, and I sincerely thank you for that. I hope that when you received notice of this update that you got excited to read what happens next with our girls. I know it has been quite a while since I last posted, and as I explained in the Author's Note from Chapter 19 it was mostly due to football season. I had hoped to get chapters posted intermittently throughout the fall, but with travel and such I just couldn't make that happen. I hope to be more regular with my writing now, but as all of you know - there's no controlling life or what it throws at you. So, without further delay, please enjoy this update! **

**AN2: A debt of undying gratitude goes out to MysteriousSwaggerOfScrubs for helping me and encouraging me through the writing process with this chapter. I have the distinct pleasure of calling you a friend and I could not be more grateful for you assistance with this chapter and in life in general. ****PSA for all you readers, if you don't know that author or her story ( _Skinny Love_ is what she's currently writing), then I HIGHLY recommend you check it out. It's amazing! **

* * *

_Chapter 20: Chef Brian_

Callie could feel eyes on her, boring palpable holes into the side of her head. Slowly and groggily, she opened her eyes, blinking away the last bit of sleep, and met the gaze of her girlfriend.

"Are you aware of how beautiful you are?" Arizona genuinely asked, then leaned down to capture Callie's lips in a soft, good morning kiss, conveying all the love and adoration she could muster. And, when she couldn't stand the need for air any longer, Arizona broke the kiss and eagerly leapt from the sheets. "Mhmm, as much as I wish I could do that all day long, I can't – _we_ can't. C'mon babe, hop up. It's shower time. You know today is the big day!"

* * *

It had been two of the longest weeks of her life. Arizona had done nothing but sit around and wait for the swelling in her face to go down, for the bruising to recede, and for her cheekbone to heal. The days went by slower than hardened molasses being poured from a jar. And if you were to look up the definition of 'Cabin Fever' in the dictionary, there'd be a picture of Arizona's face plastered within Merriam-Webster's pages.

Despite all of her stir-crazy whining and the incessant begging to be "freed from the confines of their hotel room", Callie had been the epitome of a saint the last two and a half weeks. Her loyalty, love, and attention to Arizona's recovery never faltering, despite still having to train the other competitors. A sacrifice certainly not overlooked by the blonde.

Arizona knew that she had not been the most ideal patient - she never was. She hated listening to doctor's orders. Especially the one where he said she was to not partake in any kind of physical activity. Yes, sex counted as physical activity, and, yes _,_ Callie had been adamant they listen to the doctor on that one.

Arizona also hated the fact that she wasn't even allowed to go to the gym. Richard had made it very clear to her that she was not to step foot inside the four walls of the training facility until she had been fully cleared by Dr. Jones to return to her rigorous schedule. Lastly, she hated the fact that her boxing regimen had been interrupted by an unfortunate and complete accident.

Arizona never slacked off. Not in school, not in training, not in life. One of the notions instilled in both her and Tim by her father before his untimely passing was that you could never stop bettering yourself. You could always try to achieve more. Read one more book, do one more push-up, be strong for one more person, treat people just a little bit better. That's how Arizona tried to live her life, trying to achieve the standard she watched her father and mother set.

Now, there was someone in Arizona's life that needed to be treated a little bit better and that was her girlfriend. So, with the added assistance of her mom and brother prior to their departure flight just days ago, Arizona had set up the perfect date, the perfect evening for Callie. A simple, yet heartfelt way of saying 'thank you, and I love you' to the woman who had nearly put her life on hold to nurse her broken girlfriend back to health.

* * *

The day before had been Arizona's last appointment at Seattle Grace Hospital. Dr. Jones had his nurse take one last scan of the fractured cheekbone and upon his final inspection of the facial bone - he deemed her healed enough to return to all minor training, but asked that she please wait another week before taking any punches above the neck. Arizona promised to do her best to avoid getting sucker punched by laughing that her opponents would first have to catch her in order to land a punch anywhere near her face. With one final blessing from the doctor and his nurse, Arizona and Callie made their way out into the warm July morning.

It had been two weeks and three days since Arizona had last been in the gym. It was Thursday, July 3rd - halfway through week 7 of training - and the blonde had a lot of ground to to make up in a little bit of time. Per Richard's stipulations 2 weeks ago, she had to be ready to compete starting in the second round of knockouts, or it would be her packing her bags and heading back to the East coast. And that was something that simply could not happen.

She wasn't just fighting for the trophy anymore - she was fighting to stay in Seattle with her girlfriend, too. A young, fledgling relationship surely could not stand the long distance, cross country test. So, she would win for herself, _and_ she would win for Callie.

The women walked hand in hand up the small stairway leading to the entrance of the gym. While this was still a normal routine for Callie, this was an experience that Arizona had not had in a while, and before reaching for the handle of the door, she paused to take a moment to appreciate the journey - the progress she'd made so far and all that still lie ahead of her.

* * *

After a grueling day of shadow boxing, lifting weights, and running what seemed like mile after mile, Arizona was beyond relieved to now find herself soaking in a hot tub. Her muscles ached, her joints felt tired and stiff, and the only coherent thought going through her muddled mind was how much she had missed this.

Even after taking a beating, even after Bailey had pushed her every limit today - causing her to empty the contents of her stomach multiple times throughout the day - there was no feeling in the world quite like knowing she laid it all out on the gym floor.

Callie had once again been phenomenal all day long. Not only did she easily fulfill her obligations as a trainer to the other women in the gym, but every time Arizona bolted to the bathroom or asked for a breather - Callie was there. The dedication she constantly showed to Arizona's recovery was astounding, and gave Arizona yet another reason to be thankful.

Slowly extricating herself from the relaxing confines of a large, porcelain garden tub, Arizona dried off her worn out body and began getting ready for her date. A date in which she planned on treating her girlfriend to a night out on the town, intending to make her feel special in every possible way.

Honestly, Arizona couldn't have planned it better if she tried. The next day was the Fourth of July - a holiday they had been generously been given off - and with the help of her very conniving mother, she had secured one of, if not the most highly sought after reservations in all of Seattle.

SkyCity Restaurant was world renowned for its spectacular food and even more impressive three hundred and sixty degree view of the Emerald City, and tonight - on the eve of one of the nation's biggest holidays - Arizona Robbins and Calliope Torres would have the pleasure of dining there.

With a little southern charm and the gentle forcefulness of a mother, Barbara Robbins had worked her way into the heart of Chef Brian Young. He had been shopping the fish market one morning - no doubt looking for the perfect cut of fish to make the star of his menu - when he had mistakenly bumped into Barbara, knocking the contents of her basket out all over the wet concrete of the sidewalk.

After apologizing profusely for his clumsiness, the two managed to get lost in a whimsical conversation about foods of all kinds and whether mussels tasted better drenched in white wine and butter or if they should be infused with a variety of flavor like fresh ginger and garlic. When they had completed the circuit of the fresh market, Brian having collected all he needed for his menu, he realized that while he may have only been conversing with a home cook, Barbara had a passion for cuisine and knew her way around a kitchen. And, it was for that reason he offered her a spot at the chef's table at his restaurant.

Floored by not only the generosity of this stranger, but also by the fact that he was a big wig chef, Barbara could not immediately answer. Her thoughts were racing a million miles per second. Of course she wanted to have this experience - who wouldn't for goodness sake - but she and Tim were on a flight back to Virginia later that day. Being the wonderful mother she was, though, her mind quickly formulated another plan. And, it was for that reason alone, Arizona now found herself standing at the base of the Space Needle, holding onto her girlfriend's hand, about to share in an experience of a lifetime.

As the two women rode the elevator to the very top of the needle, Arizona couldn't help but sneak a sidelong glance at her girlfriend. Her tongue peeking out to lick at dry lips as she ogled the short black dress that landed just above Callie's knees and clung to every single one of her curves, serving to do nothing but amplify her beauty - and her cleavage. The way Callie looked tonight was flawlessly exquisite, and the blonde felt an immediate surge of joy and honor knowing that this stunning woman was hers.

"Welcome to SkyCity Restaurant," the hostess greeted them as the carriage doors slid open revealing a gorgeously expansive dining room encapsulated by pristinely clear windows. "Do you have a reservation with us this evening?" the young voice pierced the silence that had fallen between the two lovebirds as they soaked in the elegance that surrounded them.

"Uh, yes. Robbins. . ."

But Arizona momentarily faltered. She wasn't sure if the Chef knew her name or if the table was reserved under her mother's name, but before she could clarify that, the college aged greeter removed two of the day's menus and an extensive wine list from the block where they were stored and ushered the two women to their exclusive dining area.

Callie and Arizona were whisked through the main dining room and led down a small corridor that opened up to a private table situated perfectly between the wide paned windows of the restaurant and the immaculate stainless steel of an industrial kitchen. Their table was nestled near the center of the cozy room, dressed with a white tablecloth, tea candle, and a dozen red roses.

"Arizona," Callie gasped, completely taken aback by the splendor that this night was quickly turning out to be. "How did you…? Is this really for us?" she rapidly questioned, disbelief and shock evident in her voice.

Turning to face her girlfriend, taking both her hands and interlacing her ivory fingers with Callie's caramel ones, Arizona spoke the words which had been on her heart the last few days.

"Calliope, my heart could not be any more grateful for all you have done for me these last couple of weeks. The sacrifices you made are countless and the love you continue to show me is boundless and unconditional. Whenever I needed you - no matter what else you had going on - you were there lovingly providing for me. You made my healing your priority."

Arizona's entire body was surging with both love and adrenaline. She never was much of a public speaker or speech giver, but in her heart of hearts she knew that this needed to be said.

"When I opened my acceptance letter to this program, I knew my life was going to change. What I did not anticipate, however, was the extent to which it would change. A year ago, six months ago, hell, even just 3 months ago, I was a self-serving, self-loathing person stuck in a horrible rutt. I may have been training, but I didn't actually _care_ about myself, I didn't love myself enough to want to make a change. Then, I met you. All at once, I felt my world shift on its axis. Suddenly I wasn't just living life for me anymore - I was living it for you, too. You make me want to be a better person, you give me a reason to want to make sacrifices, and Callie, I will stop at nothing to make sure you are happy."

Gesturing towards their intimate dining table and taking one last steadying breath, Arizona prepared to finish her heartfelt proclamation of undying gratitude and impassioned love. "I wanted to do something for you to show you just how much everything you've done has meant to me. And so, with some help from my mom and just a little bit of luck, this dinner is a small gesture of my appreciation. I love you so much, sweetheart, and I want nothing more than to spend this night with you showing you that in every way that I possibly can."

Tears had welled up in Callie warm, chocolate eyes. Arizona was so many things - beautiful, talented, funny - but Callie never realized how expressive and passionate she was, down to her very soul, and she felt herself falling impossibly further in love with the woman who'd just melted her heart.

"I love you too, Arizona. So much." Callie finally managed to get out between staggered breaths as she tried to reign in the overwhelming urge to let her tears fall. "And thank you. Thank you for doing this for me."

And with that, both women settled into their chairs, enjoying their first glasses of Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon as they each flirted shamelessly with the other, sneaking glances like two love struck teenagers. This felt nice. It felt good to be out having time to just relax and appreciate the presence of each other, and not just for an hour or two, but for the remainder of the evening.

With their appetizers of dungeness crab cakes and roasted cauliflower flatbread being served, Callie threw back her head, a hearty laugh emanating from her at Arizona's comical silliness. Sitting across from her brunette, Arizona gazed lovingly at Callie who couldn't help the blush that creeped up her chest and onto her cheeks. "What?" the Latina asked almost defensively.

"Nothing," Arizona replied with a cheeky grin as she reach out to smooth a wayward curl at the side of Callie's face. "Can I not just look at my girlfriend?"

"You're such a weirdo," Callie mumbled just loud enough for Arizona to hear.

Laughing out loud, Arizona playfully swatted at her Callie's arm. "Watch it, lady," she teased.

The wine and the conversation at dinner continued to flow, the two women talking about anything and everything that came to mind. When the entrees were served, Chef Brian took time out of his hectic night to make his way to the couple to introduce himself. Callie and Arizona were captivated listening to him explain their food, how reverently he spoke about the flavors and how the subtle flavor of tahitian vanilla can enhance the natural sweetness of a pan seared scallop. After bidding the women a good night and thanking them for dining at his restaurant, the chef returned to the intense heat of the frenzied, yet structured, kitchen.

Halfway through her glass of Tawny 12 year Port wine, Callie couldn't help but allow her mind drift to the horrific memory of walking into the hospital in a panicked search for her shattered girlfriend. Knowing where Callie's worrisome mind had disappeared to, Arizona quickly finished the last bite of her hazelnut pots de creme, and then slowly stood up and walked around the table. Leaning her front seductively against Callie's back, the blonde then leaned her chin onto a bare shoulder. "Come on, babe. Time to go," she husked into her ear. "We have plans. . .umm. . . _adult_ plans, and if you're lucky, those will involve a ton of nakedness."

Not needing to be told twice, Callie lifted her glass draining it comically before jumping up from her chair. The couple smiled toward the Chef and offered him thank you's from afar before moving toward the exit. As they walked back through the small passage leading toward the elevator, Callie offered her hand to her Arizona who followed closely behind her, interlocking their fingers and thusly joining them together for the rest of the night - a night that was nowhere near over.

* * *

Callie was on the verge of a blinding orgasm and she never wanted this blissful feeling to fade. The way Arizona was licking her was sinful. Using the tip of her tongue to encircle her throbbing clit over and over only to change it up and begin sucking her swollen nub roughly into her mouth. Fingers then teased her completely drenched entrance, first only applying a gentle pressure letting Callie know what was about to happen.

"Yes, baby! Give me your fingers!" Callie hoarsely mumbled, eagerly awaiting the moment of screaming and writhing on the mattress, but wholeheartedly enjoying the sensual build up.

Much to Callie's delight, she could then feel a lone digit slide deep into her, immediately finding and stroking the one spot no previous lover had ever been able to locate. "Oh, god! Right there! Just like that!"

Then the sensation abruptly changed. Callie could still feel the presence of a finger deep inside her, touching her just right, but the warmth of a mouth was now gone. Refusing to open her eyes, refusing to let go of that feeling, Callie silently willed the lips and tongue of her girlfriend to return to their delicate and delicious ministrations.

"You like that, baby?" a heady, sex laden voiced huskily questioned.

But when alabaster ears were met with deafening silence, Arizona again spoke - this time though, there was a tone in her voice, demanding to know if Callie liked what she was doing - needing to know if she should continue, "Calliope, I asked you a question, do you like that?"

"Y-yes, I like that," hips involuntarily lifting off the mattress as she breathily gave her reply.

Arizona smiled, knowing the reason for Callie's hesitation was pure and unabashed enjoyment. She then crawled up the Latina's gloriously naked body making sure to not slow her finger's pace inside her girlfriend and whispered, "Good," before leaning down to kiss a pair of perfectly voluptuous, rosy lips.

Callie returned the kiss with fervor, sucking Arizona's bottom lip into her mouth. "Mmm, I taste good on you," she confessed after releasing a plump lip from the grasps of her pearl white teeth. "You know, I think I could get used to this" she smirked, hoping to further rile her partner up.

"Used to what, Calliope?" Arizona's voice dripped with sarcasm and faux innocence.

"Used to me fucking you? Used to me making you come simply by licking you?" Her rhetorical questions met with only a guttural moan as she returned her mouth to Callie's waiting and silently begging clit - ceaselessly showing it the attention Callie craved.

Callie was so turned on she could barely think straight. Sex with Arizona was always incredible, but when Arizona talked dirty to her and used the " _fuck_ " word - well, that just brought everything to a whole new level. It did things to Callie that she never thought were possible. And, thank God she wasn't standing because she'd be weak in the knees listening to Arizona speak that way and touch her while doing so.

Staggered breathing made it hard to respond to the blue-eyes silently and patiently awaiting her answer, "Yes." _Breathe_. "Yes, I love it when you _fuck_ me like this, Arizona!" _Breathe._ "More." _Breathe._ "But, I need more." _Breathe._

And just like that, Callie could feel Arizona slip another finger inside her, perfectly filling her and instantly making her tingle with delight. Callie was getting close, it was not going to take much more for her to be launched into a mindblowing orgasm. She could feel the welcomed pull beginning to form within her. "Faster, baby! Hard-harder!" she shouted in between heaving breaths.

But Arizona seemed to want do things her way this evening, so she only took Callie's screamed demands as suggestions to take under consideration. Keeping her fingers buried inside she made continued to make the "come here" motion inside Callie's tight, wet center. She could feel Callie expanding and contracting to meet her every touch, the soft spot deep inside her growing larger with every stroke of her skilled fingers. But her tongue never changed its pace. Instead she methodically licked, sucked, and teased Callie's engorged bundle of nerves, smiling to herself when Callie's hips began rocking against her face.

Callie desperately needed more friction there. She was so close, yet so far without that added bit of pressure. And it was becoming abundantly clear that Arizona had no intention of changing her approach. So, Callie was going to change it for her. Reaching down, Callie weaved her fingers through Arizona's golden head of hair. She grabbed two fistfuls of beautiful blonde locks and gently guided Arizona right where she needed her. "You wanted me to do that, didn't you? You wanted my hands in your hair? You wanted me pulling you closer? God, that's sexy. Fuck, you're going to make me come!"

All Arizona could do was moan into her girlfriend's most intimate area. She knew Callie was close and she couldn't wait to feel, see, and _taste_ her come. Moaning again, she allowed the subtle hum from her throat to reverberate up to her lips and onto Callie's clit.

A new sensation proved to be Callie's ultimate undoing because in that moment Callie's once grinding, writhing body went stiff. "Oh, god! Oh, fuck! I'm coming!" She screamed as she dug her nails into Arizona's head. "Yes, baby! Don't stop, god please don't stop!" Callie breathed out as she rode wave after wave of pleasure. The movement of Arizona's fingers inside her and the magical movements of her tongue still drawing out the elusive and perfect feelings of her orgasm.

Still shuddering with tremors of delight, Callie worked to to try to catch her breath, watching as Arizona carefully withdrew her fingers, licked them clean, and then reverently placed one last kiss to her wet slit. Arizona then kissed her way up Callie's body, swirling her tongue over the still rigid peaks of Callie's dusty rose nipples, and ending at a set of lips that were curled up into one of the most beautiful smiles Arizona had ever seen.

* * *

 **AN3: So, a little fun, a little seriousness, and a lot of happiness for them! After my hiatus from writing, I felt really energized to come back to this story and I must say, this might be one of my favorite chapters so far! I hope that y'all liked it as well and I look forward to hearing what you think. Arizona's first attempt at going through a knockout round is next. Wonder who she will have to fight, and I wonder who is going home this week?**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.**

 **AN1:Yay, a new chapter! I hope everyone loves reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it! Also, thank you to everyone who took the time to review my last update. It is so amazing to know that people were still invested in my story even after such a long hiatus. And the best part was that y'all seemed to really love the chapter and the direction in which things are going. Now, I know a good many of you have asked for a Callie/Arizona fight, as well as some more boxing scenes, and without giving too much away, I promise that things are going to start getting more intense where all of that is concerned. Knock out rounds are starting very soon and I think you'll like how I have structured the competition.**

 **AN2: Another humongous thank you to MysteriousSwaggerOfScrubs for her assistance in writing this chapter. Whenever I hit a road block, you're always there to guide me through it. Youda best! **

* * *

Chapter 21: _The Text_

Slowly rolling over and nuzzling into the warmth of her girlfriend's feminine shape, Arizona basked in the glow of sunlight streaming in through a small crack in drawn curtains. As the fogginess of sleep receded from her mind, clear, vivid, and rapturous memories of night before began to flood her mind.

She and Callie had gone well into the wee hours of the morning reacquainting their bodies with one another. After almost three weeks of being celibate, they were not at all worried about losing out on a little sleep.

With her mind lost in provocative thoughts, Arizona did not notice her partner beginning to stir, and it wasn't until she felt a pair of lips gently brush against her shoulder did she notice that Callie had indeed awakened.

"Good morning, babe," Callie's soulful eyes reflected pure love as she greeted the woman who was quickly becoming her world. And, as she watched stunning blue eyes turn to meet her gaze, a dimpled smile that lit up the room and ignited a fire within her, Callie knew that moment that Arizona wasn't just becoming her world - she already was her world.

Curling herself even farther into the brunette's embrace and burying her face into the crook of Callie's neck, Arizona let out a groggy moan, still not wanting to fully acknowledge or accept morning had come and was in full swing. "Wht eyem zzt?"

"I'm sorry, was that English?" Callie asked while trying - and failing - to stifle a giggle.

Dramatically rolling over and flopping herself face up on the mattress, Arizona also let a giggle escape her lips. The two women then lost themselves in a fit of laughter, relishing in the ease of their relationship.

Finally catching her breath, Arizona again posed her question to Callie, "What time is it?"

Blindly reaching to the bedside table, Callie's hand fumbled in search of her phone. After knocking a bottle of Tylenol and the jewelry she had worn last night to the floor, Callie finally located the device she needed and brought it toward her face. Tapping the home button, both she and Arizona were surprised to read that it was nearly ten in the morning.

"9:48! Holy moly, we slept a long time!" Callie exclaimed, completely surprised that the two women had managed to stay asleep for that long. Normally, their internal clocks had them up sometime around seven, but something about sleeping in with Arizona felt nice.

Tossing her phone somewhere on top of the duvet of her plush bed, Callie made the quick decision to spend even more time alone and in bed with her girlfriend. Rolling onto her side, Callie propped her head up on the palm of her hand and proposed an idea to Arizona, who was clearly playing possum because even though her eyes were closed, there was an ear to ear grin plastered on her face.

"So, my dear, since you seem to be intent on staying in as comfy as possible right now, how about we order a little breakfast in bed and spend the morning lounging and…", but her words were cut off by one very excited blonde.

"Yes! Oh my god, yes Callie! Do you even know how amazing that sounds? I love breakfast in bed, and you know how much I love ordering room service!"

"Yes, love. I know," Arizona's smile and attitude was infectious and Callie couldn't resist sharing in the childlike joy her girlfriend was now feeling. "I'll go get the menu."

* * *

Arizona had been pacing around the expanse of the penthouse for the last hour and Callie was positive that she was about to wear a whole through her very expensive Persian rug that lined the dining room's floor. The worst part of it all though, was that Callie had no idea what was wrong. Everything from the moment they had woken up that morning had been wonderful, _perfect_ even.

They'd ordered nearly everything on the breakfast menu including chicken and waffles, poached salmon eggs benedict, which had a to-die-for hollandaise sauce, and a chorizo breakfast burrito. The meal of course not being complete without mimosas with freshly squeezed orange juice.

As the women slowly savored all their entrees, occasionally feeding each other bites and insisting that they try a little bit of everything, they fantasized about places they would like to travel to one day, naming various landmarks and destinations all over the world they'd always dreamed of seeing. Then, with full bellies and immensely happy hearts, they had decided to curl up with each other and watch a movie from the comfort of Callie's bed.

But now, now that they had woken up from their unplanned nap and it was 2:33 in the afternoon on the day before a knockout round, Arizona seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Callie had never seen her like this. Not only was she hastily pacing around the room, but she was nervously biting her lip, grabbing at the hem of worn out Marine Corps t-shirt, and wringing her hands together as if trying to expel excess water that didn't exist.

Standing and walking to intercept the blonde in her path, Callie rested her two hands atop strong, but near trembling shoulders and genuinely asked, "Arizona, what's wrong? You've been at this for quite a while now, yet you have not uttered one word to me about what is going on. Please talk to me. Let me help. I'll do anything you need me to do."

Anxious blue eyes met concerned brown ones. "I need you to come to the gym with me and help me get in an extra workout."

 _Anything but that._ Callie thought to herself. She had told Richard that she wasn't training with Arizona in an effort to keep their gym relationship strictly professional. And, to this point, she hadn't so much as worked with Arizona in a group session.

Seeing the torment of the decision written all over her girlfriend's face, Arizona tried to find the right words to convey what she was feeling and why she was feeling it. "Callie, I'm scared. No, not scared - I'm _worried_. I-I-I have been out of the ring for three weeks, and tomorrow I have to fight someone! And, not only do I have to fight someone, I have to beat them. Callie how do I beat someone who hasn't had to give up their training? How do I even compete when I've had one day, Callie, _one day_ back in the gym?"

The brutal honesty in Arizona's words shook Callie to her core. Arizona always displayed the utmost confidence in everything she did, so to see her this nervous, this unsure in her abilities as a fighter made her decision an easy one.

"Okay. Yes, of course I'll come to the gym with you. But-" Hearing the news she so desperately needed, Arizona quickly turned on her heels to begin getting herself ready to leave. But before she could walk away, she felt Callie grab her hand and pull her back to the spot she had just vacated.

" _But_ , you don't need me, Arizona." A flash of anger followed by confusion swept across Arizona's face, Callie's proclamation having rendered her speechless.

Hearing that her blonde wasn't going to protest, Callie endearingly continued on, "You don't need me because you are ready for this. No amount of time out of the gym can take away from the natural talent you possess. Just because I don't work with you everyday, doesn't mean I don't see you train, and from what I have seen I have all the confidence in the world in you and your abilities."

* * *

"Thirty more seconds. You got this, babe."

"I f-fu-fucking hate th-th-thissss." Arizona could not get her teeth to stop chattering. Ice baths were her nemesis and in this moment she very much regretted asking Callie to help her because if it hadn't been for her "trainer", she wouldn't be in this freezing cold situation.

Finding no pleasure in seeing her girlfriend cold and miserable, Callie prayed for the numbers on her stopwatch to tick away just a little bit quicker. "I know you do, and I'm sorry for making you do this, but you kind of had to after how hard you just worked. I would never forgive myself if you were too sore to compete tomorrow. Ten seconds."

And that was true. Arizona had worked herself completely ragged in the two and a half hours they had been at the gym. Not taking her foot off the accelerator for one second. It worried Callie a little bit that she was pushing herself too hard, and that she wouldn't have enough energy tomorrow to be competitive. But then again, this was Arizona she was talking about, if anyone could do it - it was her.

"Two...one...time!" Callie rose from her chair just on the other side of the metal tub and held her arms open, revealing a fluffy towel for Arizona to be enveloped in.

Arizona eagerly stepped out of the tub and sank her numb body into Callie's embrace. As the feeling slowly returned to her extremities, she could feel her girlfriend vigorously running her hands up and down her body, willing the warmth to return.

"Thank you, Callie. Not just for this, right now, but for coming here today. For helping me, and most of all, for believing in me." Then a pair of cold, blue lips leaned in and found a pair of warm, pink ones. And what started out as a very innocent " _thank you_ " peck, quickly turned into something much heavier as tongues explored and hands began to roam.

Arizona's body, which had been nearly frozen only minutes ago, was now on fire. She could feel the desire growing as she continued to deepen their kiss. All she wanted was Callie, and she wanted her now. Unfortunately she wasn't going to get her because as quickly as this whole thing started - it was over.

It had taken every ounce of willpower, but Callie had managed to pull herself away. "Arizona, we can't. Not here anyway. I have made it a point to keep our relationship platonic and professional. We can't just throw that away for a quickie."

Arizona knew Callie was right. They had vowed to put their relationship on the backburner whenever they were working and having sex in the locker room would not be keeping a low profile.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Give me a minute to change, and then we can head back to the hotel." Arizona walked over to her duffle bag and removed the extra set of clothes she kept in there for situations such as this. As she slid the lock of the bathroom stall door into place, she proposed a plan to her girlfriend who stood waiting patiently, "I know we ordered room service this morning, but what do you think about a quiet night in tonight? Maybe a quick meal, and then we pick up where we just left off?"

Staring at herself in the large wall mirror, Callie made her best effort to recompose herself after allowing her girlfriend to get her completely worked up. Undoing and redoing her ponytail, making sure to recapture all the tendrils Arizona's dextrous fingers had freed as she pulled the brunette in closer to deepen their kiss moments ago, Callie offhandedly remarked, "Well, actually, I kind of have something planned for us tonight. Nothing too fancy, but I'm certainly not opposed to starting that fire again." Callie's voice dropped an octave as she ended that thought.

Arizona emerged from behind the door, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a heat gear hoodie - doing everything she could to bring her body back up to normal temperature. "Something planned for us, huh? I like the sound of that, but do I get to know what this something is, Calliope?" she sweetly asked.

Raising her eyebrows and tapping her index finger against her pursed lips, Callie pretended to consider how to answer Arizona's question, thoroughly enjoying keeping her in limbo. "Hmmm. Nope. It's a surprise." Seeing Arizona immediately jut out her bottom lip in a dramatic pout, Callie stepped toward her girlfriend, invading every inch of her personal space, seductively whispering in her ear, "The only thing that lip is going to do is get you in trouble. Now, come on. Let's go."

* * *

Evening had settled over the West coast. Stars twinkled in the clear, night sky, friends and neighbors gathered in backyards to celebrate their nation's declaration of independence, children ran through blocked off streets playing with sparklers, and somewhere within the belly of one of the many hotels in downtown Seattle, two women were about to spend their first holiday together.

"Caaallie, where are you taking me? Can you at least give me a hint?" Arizona whined as she was being pulled through the empty halls.

"No hints, I told you that earlier. Now, come on!" Callie insisted, her grasp on the ivory hand within her own, unwavering.

Stepping onto the elevator, Callie pushed the button for the top floor before leaning back against the wall of the elevator, a mischievous smile playing across her lips as she watched the lights of the lift signal each passing floor.

Standing silently beside her girlfriend, Arizona watched in amusement as Callie excitedly tapped her foot against the floor, a huge smile covering her face. It made Arizona happy to see her girlfriend so enthusiastic about whatever it was that she had to show her, and while she was mildly intrigued herself, she also had a nagging feeling that she should be preparing for tomorrow's fight.

The sudden halt of the elevator and the ding of the bell quickly brought Arizona out of her worried thoughts. Noticing the floor they had stopped on, her brow rose as she incredulously questioned, "The roof? You brought me up to the roof?"

"Yep!" Callie excitedly replied, determined not to let her girlfriend's suddenly anxious attitude ruin their evening. She wasn't stupid - she hadn't failed to notice Arizona's worried, yet also extremely horny mood. Ever since they had put on the brakes in the locker room earlier that day, Arizona had been exhibiting the classic signs of a sexually frustrated teenager, craving the one thing she knew she could not yet have.

"Really, Callie? What the heck could possibly be up here on the roof?!" Arizona huffed, her mood quickly morphing from stressed and frustrated to downright bitchy.

Callie rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's disgruntled impatience. "Arizona Robbins! I love you to pieces, but you are seriously starting to get on my nerves! So please. . . _please_. . .just close your eyes and shut up!" she sternly barked.

Arizona's eyes widened at Callie's unusual outburst. Opening her mouth to protest, she quickly shut it when she caught the glaring look in Callie's usually soft chocolate eyes. "Fine. But I don't really appreciate being told off, Calliope."

"Well, then, I suggest you close those big beautiful eyes that I love and let me show you the reason why I brought you up here to the _dreaded_ roof," Callie placated.

"Fine, fine. You're right. I'll shut up," Arizona relented, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "Lips sealed. Eyes closed. But, please don't let me fall to my death, that would really throw a wrench into my plans to win this thing and spend the rest of my life with you," she happily joked, definitively ending their brief spat.

Rolling her eyes, Callie sighed as she grabbed hold of Arizona's shoulders from behind, moving her off the elevator, the warmth of the summer night air intensifying the fire that seemed to always rage between the two women.

Wrapping her arms around Arizona, Callie carefully and slowly moved them toward the center of the roof. Leaning in nice and close, she softly whispered into her ear, "Okay. You can open your eyes now."

Shivering at the sensation of Callie's breath on her ear, Arizona dutifully followed her girlfriend's instruction. Eyes opening slowly, it took her a moment to take in her surroundings, and as she did, she suddenly gasped aloud.

Right there before her, in the middle of the roof was the most beautiful sight she had ever set her eyes on. Twinkly lights lining every surface of the roof shimmered around a table set for two as candles flickered in the darkness, the delicious aroma of spaghetti and meatballs assaulting her senses. Looking beyond the center of the roof, the Seattle skyline glimmered in the distance providing a majestically grandiose backdrop to complete this romantic setting.

Quickly turning to face her girlfriend who stood nervously wringing her hands and biting her bottom lip, Arizona's mouth opened and closed several times before finally finding the ability to speak. "Calliope. . .I. . .what's all this?" she quietly asked.

"Well, it's our first holiday together, and I wanted to do something special. I know we can't go all out, buck wild because of the competition, but I wanted to do something for us - something that we can look back on years from now and smile. . ."

"It's perfect. Thank you," Arizona happily interrupted.

Callie opened her arms to catch her girlfriend who nearly jumped into her embrace. Holding her close, she nuzzled her neck, placing small kisses on every inch of skin she could reach. "I love you, Arizona."

"I love you, too, Calliope. So much," Arizona whispered as she clung to the taller woman.

After a few moments of holding one another, Callie disentangled their bodies before leading Arizona toward the table. "For you, my lady," she teasingly instructed as she pulled out her chair.

Arizona giggled, blushing slightly as she sat down. Looking in front of her, she felt her heart swell and her stomach flutter as she considered the great effort Callie had gone to in order to make this night special. Had she not already been head over heels in love with her, this would certainly have sealed the deal. "How'd you manage all this?" she asked as she watched Callie pour them both a glass of her favorite Chardonnay.

Callie waved her off as she returned the bottle back to the bucket to chill. "Oh, it didn't take much. Plus, it helps when your dad owns the place."

"Yea, I guess that'll do it," Arizona giggled as she accepted the proffered wine glass from her girlfriend.

"There may or may not have been a little bribery involved, especially when it came to the spaghetti," Callie admitted with a wink. "Apparently, cooking Italian food on America's birthday is a little frowned upon, but I knew you would appreciate a meal full of carbs. . ." Callie realized she was rambling and quickly decided to raise her glass and offer a toast.

Grinning ear to ear as she listened to the thoughtfulness Callie had put into this evening, Arizona followed suit, raising her own glass. "What are we toasting to?"

Callie thoughtfully regarded her girlfriend. Studying the beautiful face before her, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the magnitude of emotion that overcame her. Clearing her throat, she quietly sniffled as a megawatt smile then consumed her face. "We're toasting to us. To you, Arizona, because I love you so much," she sincerely began. "What we have is. . .magical. It's beautiful, and it's real. It's the purest thing in my life, and every single day that I get to spend with you is the happiest day of my life. Every single time I look at you, I melt. Every time I kiss you or touch you, I'm in heaven. I never thought a love like ours could exist, but yet. . .here we are. You've made me the happiest person alive, Arizona, and I promise you that not one day will go by that you won't know exactly how much I love you," Callie said with conviction, looking Arizona dead in the eye and hoping her girlfriend understood exactly what she meant.

Callie's words were like a shot of heroin to her heart. They were addictive and made her feel higher than any drug ever could. Unable to hold her deep, chocolate gaze, Arizona quickly looked away. "Calliope. . ." she softly said, the genuineness of her girlfriend's words making her feel like a total jerk for behaving like such a brat.

"Look at me."

Embarrassed by her previous behavior, Arizona only shook her head as tears began to well in her eyes.

"Look at me," Callie softly repeated, this time with greater intensity.

Lifting her head and looking across the small space, Arizona's eyes darted around before finally locking with the soulful brown ones of her girlfriend.

"I love you, Arizona, but more than that - I believe in you. I know you can win this, and I'm obviously not supposed to pick a favorite, but I _want_ you to win this," Callie genuinely added.

Arizona shook her head, knowing Callie was risking a lot by admitting that, but wholeheartedly relieved to have heard it nonetheless. "Thank you, Calliope."

"Arizona, I find you miraculous, breathtakingly stunning. . .I can't stop looking at you. I want you, Arizona. God, I want you all the time, baby. You drive me crazy. . .you make my head spin. Watching you in the gym, seeing how you have dedicated yourself to your craft is such a turn on. I've never wanted anyone more in my entire life," she honestly stated before clearing her throat and attempted to get their conversation back on track. "Anyway, I just wanted our first holiday to be special . . .a night neither of us will ever forget. And - and I know we can't go out and do anything spectacular, but spending the night with you, just you, will be spectacular in its own right."

Arizona swallowed hard, Callie's words forcing her to realize that she had been panicking over nothing. Listening to her girlfriend's beautiful voice say everything she needed to hear, she had never felt more sure and confident in her life. "You're right. About everything. Tonight is already amazing, and I love that it's just you and me up here enjoying this dinner and this view. And I'm ready for tomorrow, I have worked so hard for this, and I know I'm ready."

Callie smiled, knowing her reassuring words had finally sunk in with the blonde. "Now, why don't you pick up that glass, because I want to make one more toast," she continued, reaching over to grab her glass of Chardonnay.

Following her girlfriend's lead, Arizona picked up her own glass holding it in mid air as she gazed dreamily at Callie.

"To Us. To the love that we share. It's more than anyone could ever dream of. Oh! And also to you making it through tomorrow and the rest of the competition," Callie toasted as she winked at her blushing and grinning girlfriend.

Setting their glasses back down, the two women settled into easy conversation, letting the delicious wine guide their ramblings. Once their plates had been cleaned and glasses emptied, Callie stood and led Arizona over to a small sofa where they sat facing the bay.

"There's more?" Arizona unbelievably questioned, curling her legs up under her and sinking her body into the Latina's slightly larger frame. "Callie, this night has been extraordinary already, how can you possibly top it?"

But before Callie could answer, a series of bright, sparkly trails shot into the sky over Puget Sound, and just as the trails reached the pinnacle of their upward travel, they exploded into a glorious array of colorful, sparkling fire.

For the next hour, Callie and Arizona' bodies remained intertwined as they sat quietly, completely entranced in the vibrant fireworks show in front of them. The top of the hotel offering the perfect vantage point for them to witness the celebration throughout the city.

Just as Arizona began to drift off, she felt her phone buzz in her back pocket. Silently debating whether she should even check it, she ultimately decided that it was probably her mom and that she should text her back so as not to worry Barbara. But when she clicked the button to light up her phone, it wasn't her mother's name or number that popped up on the screen. It was a number she didn't know and a text that scared the absolute shit out of her.

Callie felt her girlfriend's body go rigid in her arms and immediately her senses went into overdrive. "Arizona, what is it? What's wrong?" The worry in her voice evident even though she knew nothing of what was going on.

Arizona turned to face Callie, the occasional flash of an exploding firework providing just enough light to reveal her ashen face. Callie sensed fear and could see the panic in every last one of Arizona's features.

"Arizona. What. . ." But she couldn't finish her question, and she didn't need to because what she was now reading told her everything she needed to know.

 **(614) 609-9716:** **I saw you and Callie in the gym today. No wonder you're doing so well…**

* * *

 **AN3: Dun, dun, duuuuuun! So, who saw them? What's going to happen? And how will this effect Arizona going into knockout rounds? Well, your good news is that I already have the next chapter outlined, so *hopefully* it won't take me too long to get written and posted. As always though, please be patient with me as I do have a real job and real life to contend with. Anyway, let me know what you think and get ready for knock out rounds + a little (okay, maybe a lot) of drama coming in the next chapter.**


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